Paul Parker believes Manchester United are only in the hunt for a top four finish this season because the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham are struggling for consistency.
United currently sit fifth in the Premier League, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with 16 games remaining in the league campaign.
But the former Manchester United defender has been critical of some of the usual suspects when it comes to the top four in recent seasons.
And he believes that the home form of Chelsea, who have lost at Stamford Bridge against West Ham, Bournemouth and Southampton, gives United hope that they can still finish in the top four.
Speaking to Gambling.com, he said: “Given the standard of the Premier League this season, I just wonder how good do you actually have to be to get into that top four?
“The likes of Wolves and Leicester have made big strides of course and credit to them, but Manchester United are still in the top four race because Chelsea and Tottenham are quite poor, consistency wise.
“When things work for them, they’re OK. Tottenham’s whole ethos will likely change under [Jose] Mourinho and Chelsea’s home form is too up-and-down, which probably boils down to the inexperience of their manager Frank Lampard.
“If we’re being honest, Manchester United are only still in the hunt because the teams in this league have been very, very poor.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Liverpool, because if you win the league then you deserve to win the league because you’re the best, there’s no other way about it. But some of the teams and the way they’ve performed this season, the standard has been poor.”
