Roy Keane has said that Manchester United are a couple of years away from being realistic contenders for the Premier League title.
The Red Devils have not won the English top-flight since 2013 and have barely been in contention for the title since Alex Ferguson retired.
To make matters worse, Man United’s bitter rivals Manchester City have been the dominant team and Liverpool have finally ended their long wait for a league title.
Keane believes that his former team will have to wait another few years to end their own title-drought.
“The league table doesn’t lie”
“They’re a few players off yet. They have obviously strengthened, but the league table doesn’t lie – look at their points total,” Keane told The Sunday Independent.
“I know people say they’ve had one or two decent results, against Man City and Liverpool. But it’s all about the points. So, no, I don’t see United competing in the next year or two for the league.
“I think there’s going to be an improvement and they will close the gap. But there is a bit of work to be done for Ole and the players. They’re missing something. They haven’t been consistent enough.”
“I think United are a bit short at the back”
Keane said that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are excellent on the counter-attack, but they need to get better at breaking sides down when they sit deep.
The former Manchester United captain also feels that the club are “a bit short at the back.” Keane has been a strong critic of Harry Maguire and David de Gea at times this season
“People have analysed it and said Man United’s strength at the moment is on the counter-attack. But the problem has been when they had a lot of possession – breaking teams down.
“But with one or two players coming back, United will certainly be pushing to get in that fourth position. But trying to get fourth and winning the league is a big leap.
“They need one or two players. When you’re at big clubs, everyone loves talking about buying attacking players, because people say you’re only as good as your goalscorers. I think United are a bit short at the back.”
"If you are not performing week in, week out people are going to get on your back. I always say there is a compliment in that."https://t.co/7ZXoRsLRzo
— Pundit Arena (@PunditArena) June 28, 2020
At the moment, Solskjaer’s most pressing concern is securing qualification for the Champions League.
Man United are currently sixth in the Premier League, three points behind fifth-place Wolverhampton Wanderers with a game in hand.
They are five points adrift of Chelsea in fourth, having played the same number of games as Frank Lampard’s team.