Sir Alex Ferguson has cited the influx of foreign owners as the reason behind the change of culture that has seen almost a quarter of the managers in English football sacked barely past the midway point of the season.
Twenty-two managers have left their clubs so far and Ferguson, a prominent member of the League Managers' Association, believes it is directly linked to the overseas investment.
"Unfortunately it's the climate of management nowadays and, over the last decade, it has got worse and worse," he said. "I don't think the game has the stable directorships it used to have, with clubs having the grandfather and father being chairmen for periods of 40-odd years.
"You have new ownerships now, people from abroad, the Middle East, the United States and Russia. You've got all different types of cultures coming into the game now and running football clubs, and I don't think they have the same patience of older generations."
Ferguson's son Darren, sacked at Preston North End, is among those to lose their jobs, though he may be offered a return with his former club Peterborough United.
The Manchester United manager said: "It's not an easy industry to work in nowadays, particularly for younger managers looking to gain experience and confidence. You know, time is a great thing for managers. If they are given time, they can get their philosophy across to the football club and lay the foundations, but they are just not getting that time."
Roy Keane is also out of work, having been sacked at Ipswich Town, and, referring to the former United captain, Ferguson continued: "The ability is not in question, it is just about the trust that people put in you and managers are just not getting that, whoever it is."
The LMA's figures say that 1,023 managers have been dismissed, resigned or left clubs by mutual consent since Ferguson was appointed in November 1986. The Scot believes United are benefiting from the stability. Chasing a record 19th league title, they are unbeaten in the league all season and two points clear of second-placed Manchester City with two games in hand.
"If you are near the top at New Year, either top or within two or three points of the leaders, then you are in the frame," Ferguson said. "I always feel that we progress in the second half and I expect us to use our experience. It is not an easy league now – Wolves have beaten Chelsea, Blackpool have beaten Liverpool – but I just feel that, with our own form, we are starting to get there."
Ferguson, speaking on The Football Show on Sirius XM, was asked how he managed to keep players happy while maintaining his rotation policy – he has not named the same side in successive matches since the final week of the 2008-09 season. At City, there have been several outbursts through the media from fringe players, the latest Micah Richards's saying last week he was contemplating leaving.
"Several things come into it, but first of all the players have to understand that, at Manchester United, we have to use our squad," Ferguson said. "I'll always explain to a player I have left out exactly what I am trying to do and the reason for not including him in a particular game.
"In general, it appears to pay off, in terms of respect for the player and giving him his head. If he has his own opinion, great, I am happy to talk it through with him and they always know they may be playing next week and somebody else will have to sit it out.
"If we win things, then it shows the way we have gone about things is correct. If we are winning the Premier League, European Cup or FA Cup, then we know we have done the right thing."
