Chief executive Ed Woodward arrived at Carrington at 8am on Tuesday morning to inform the Scot face-to-face of the news.

David Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United with immediate effect.

Chief executive Ed Woodward arrived at Carrington at 8am on Tuesday morning to inform the Scot face-to-face of the news.

Moyes had already been informed of his fate and thanked club staff at the training complex in anticipation of his departure. The players were not present at the time, with the former boss leaving the training base at 12.55pm.

A tweet on the club's official Twitter account read: 'BREAKING: Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club. The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.'

Ryan Giggs will take temporary charge for the rest of the season as interim manager, while Phil Neville has kept his job within the club's backroom staff.

Coaches Steve Round and Jimmy Lumsden have been relieved of their duties.

It emerged on Monday that United's owners, the Glazer family, had lost patience with Moyes after a dismal season that has seen the reigning Barclays Premier League champions slump to seventh in the table.

The final straw was Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Everton, their 11th in the Barclays Premier League this season, and a result that left the title holders 13 points off the Champions League places.

United are confident of landing Holland coach Louis van Gaal as his replacement once they have tied up details of the manager's severance package.

The Barclays Premier League champions have already made contact with the Dutchman and he wants to join United after the World Cup, while Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp has ruled himself out of any potential move to Manchester.

Moyes has been sacked having not even completed one year of a six-year contract and will receive a hefty compensation package.

The Scot, on a day off on Monday, is understood to have been hurt and angry after learning of his fate on newspaper websites.