MANCHESTER (AFP) - Manchester United manager David Moyes found himself beneath an increasingly intense spotlight on Wednesday amid press reports of fan dissent in the wake of his side's defeat by Manchester City.

United's 3-0 loss at Old Trafford on Tuesday was the cue for an angry reaction from some of the club's supporters, who have seen their team disintegrate under Moyes's stewardship.

Several British newspapers reported that a group of United fans are planning to send a plane over Old Trafford during their game against Aston Villa on Saturday pulling a banner calling for him to be sacked.

Arrangements are being made for the plane to carry a message "Wrong One - Moyes Out" as a response to the "Chosen One" banner that has hung inside the stadium since the former Everton manager was appointed as Alex Ferguson's successor.

Former manager Ferguson had been barracked by fans as he sat in the directors box for choosing Moyes to succeed him, while a picture emerged showing a supporter being led away by stewards after apparently gesturing for the former Everton coach to resign.

Dissent had crept onto social networking websites as well, with the hash tag "#MoyesOut" trending on Twitter in the United Kingdom.

Despite the dissent, United continue to back Moyes publicly, with director and former player Bobby Charlton asserting in a BBC interview on Tuesday that he felt that the Scot was still "the right man" for the job.

United have gone out of both domestic cup competitions and their chances of qualifying for next year's Champions League are remote after the loss to City left them 12 points below the top four in seventh place.