Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson has criticised those fans of the club who protested at Old Trafford earlier this month.
Ahead of United's scheduled clash with Liverpool on May 2nd, fans arrived at both Old Trafford and the team hotel in an attempt to disrupt the fixture.
With the team bus unable to depart and fans making their way onto the Old Trafford pitch while Sky Sports cameras rolled, the game was eventually postponed and played out last week instead.
However, as Manchester United prepare to welcome back up to 10,000 fans for Tuesday night's game against Fulham, Bryan Robson has a stark warning for those making their way to the stadium.
"This club has a proud history," he has stated in his Daily Mail column. "Its name is renowned around the world, it has an aura like no other and we need to protect that.
"We don’t want it tarnished by a mindless minority."
Likening the scenes which unfolded at Old Trafford on May 2nd to football's darker days in the 1970s and '80s, Robson was adamant that he didn't like what he saw.
"That had all the hallmarks of the hooliganism which marred our game," he stated, "and there's no place for it at United."
Signed by Manchester United from West Bromwich Albion in 1981, Robson played over 450 games for the club during his 13-season spell there.
While he did not discount the fact that the club's owners may have the answers to questions that the fans are asking, Robson insisted that everyone else involved in the club did not.
"I was inside the stadium for five hours prior to the postponed Liverpool game as the protests built up," he explained, "and I saw how stewards and staff were frightened. It’s not their job to get into confrontations.
"These are staff who are fanatical about their club, yet left frightened by their own supporters threatening to harm them. Even breaking into the training ground, what does that really achieve?
"Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players can’t answer questions for the owners. The disruption had consequences as it affected the players and their preparation."
Given the ambassadorial role he holds within the club, Robson dismissed the notion that this was influencing his outlook, nevertheless.
"I know there will be some who will say I’m bound to support the owners as a result," he admitted, "but I played for the club, I’m a massive fan and I want United to be the most successful club in the world.
"Yet you have to recognise there are boundaries."
In the end, the former England international stated his ambition for Tuesday night's fixture and the weeks to come: "Let Manchester United make headlines for the right reasons: their football."
With a top 4 spot and Champions League football secured, Solskjaer's team will have a chance to add a trophy to their haul for the season when they take on Villarreal in the Europa League final.
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