IT'S a bit early for a winter of discontent - but there can be little doubt that all is not right at Old Trafford.

Five points off the top of the table by mid-November a crisis does not make - but Sir Alex Ferguson will have had every reason to embrace this latest international break with more enthusiasm than usual.

A whisper here and whine there - the cracks are appearing in the usually impregnable walls of Carrington. Which is why the United manager will be glad of the chance to plaster over the escalating problems within his squad.

Ferguson has made an art out of keeping things in house, but Nani's outburst in a Portuguese newspaper yesterday, especially coming so soon after Tomasz Kuszczak's "joke" about Edwin van der Sar, points to a worrying trend.

Add to that the alarming loss of form of his central defensive partnership and his own run-ins with the Football Association and it has been a turbulent start to a season that was always going to be testing.

Ferguson is running out of thumbs with which to plug the leaks.

Nani's comments about broken promises and shattered confidence will not be able to be dismissed as light-heartedly as Kuszczak's a week earlier.

"People expect more from me and it's not easy," said the Portuguese international. "But they are also not doing what they said they were going to.

"I can have a spectacular game, but nobody guarantees me I will be starting the next match. It shatters your confidence."

Nani's revelations of Ferguson's four-letter rants are also sure to be met with a frosty reception from his manager.

While the `hairdryer treatment' has been the standard euphemism for his tirades, rarely have current players gone into such depth about the inner realms of the United dressing room.

"He shouts at players in front of everyone," added Nani. "No one escapes, everybody is the same."

Just a week earlier Kuszczak complained that he didn't receive enough support from Van der Sar, questioning whether the Dutchman liked him.

The quick solution would be to show both players the door in the January transfer window.

Neither has pulled up trees at United, nor would their departures be mourned on the terraces.

But it would do little to quell the belief that both incidents are indicative of deeper-lying problems within the United dressing room. Ferguson's vociferous defence of Rio Ferdinand in recent weeks - accusing the media of humiliating the out of form defender - was the first sign of one of his most tried and trusted techniques.

Much of his squad may be in the far flung corners of the world, but when they return to Old Trafford next week, it will be a case of putting the `tin hats' on, as Fergie likes to say.

The master of instilling the siege mentality, the United manager will prepare his troops for war. "No one likes us and we don't care," will be the motto of a club that is already beginning to feel the world is against them.

The controversial nature of Chelsea's winning goal last Sunday and the circumstances behind defeat to Liverpool two weeks earlier has only strengthened that belief.

It is a tried and trusted technique of Ferguson's and one that has served him well over the years.

Which is why he will have been so disappointed to hear breaks in the ranks over the past seven days.

Nani and Kuszczak may get the same treatment as Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy before them.

But that alone will not solve United's problems.

Ferguson still has the majority of the £80m Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer and could be set to enter the January transfer window with more gusto than normal.

A heartening performance against Chelsea ultimately proved fruitless, no matter what the circumstances.

And it only emphasised the fact that Ronaldo's departure has not been adequately addressed.

Targets such as David Silva and David Villa could yet prove the spark United have been so desperately missing this season. And given Valencia's financial difficulties, Ferguson could be tempted to firm up his interest in one or both.

But his immediate concerns will be those players already within the camp.

Tin hats at the ready.