Even with their current form, Manchester United are not yet favourites for a top-four spot.

Aston Villa were getting results and, yes, they’re falling away, but they’ve done incredibly and they’re still only just behind Tottenham. I feel Spurs are the favourites naturally to finish in the top four, but Manchester United are going extremely well. Their inconsistency has now turned to a positive again, but can they sustain it? Because that’s what keeps happening, they get results and dip.

We’ve seen some movements in the ownership off the pitch which could create a little bit of positivity going forward. Players are coming back as well from injury, so they’ve got every chance of finishing fourth, but they’re just not favourites yet.

From a player’s point of view, there won’t be any real interest in what’s happening off the pitch, they are used to dealing with it good or bad. But, from a supporter’s perspective, the positivity can help the players because the mentality could change now they see a future. Players just feed off that.

They have a really big game coming up in a couple of weeks with the Manchester derby and I think that’s the one where people start to say ‘what’s going to happen with this Manchester United side?’

They are going to be judged on whether they can win their next three games and then going and getting a positive result against Manchester City.

We thought United were going to be challenging for the title this season when it all set off because they won a trophy last year, finished in a good position and the squad looked better. So the top four now is a bare minimum. If not, it’s a complete failure for Manchester United. The FA Cup would be another positive, but they cannot finish lower than fourth.