Manchester United are capable of forcing themselves back into top-four contention.
That is according to former Arsenal star Paul Merson, who believes “consistency and confidence” is key to the Red Devils getting their season back on track.
The Old Trafford club appear to be getting their act together after recording their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign.
The 1-1 draw with Liverpool plus back-to-back wins against Partizan Belgrade and Norwich have given fans a glimmer of hope that brighter days lie ahead.
Merson believes it is a sign of United’s decline that those results now constitute a good week.
But with fourth-place Chelsea being just seven points ahead in the Premier League table, he believes a hat-trick of wins could fire the club right back into the mix.
“It’s been a good week for them,” Merson told Sky Sports . “They stopped Liverpool, went to Partizan and kept a clean sheet and they would have wanted to keep a clean sheet against Norwich.
“They had to beat Norwich surely, they got beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa at home and the last thing you need is to be going there and getting beaten – that would have been a disaster.
“We put such a high bar on Man Utd because they’re the biggest club in the world and now we’re talking about having a good week drawing at home to Liverpool and beating Partizan and Norwich away.
“I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that I’d be sitting here talking about a good week like that for Man Utd.
“A few years ago, it wouldn’t even come up, it would just be run of the mill.
“Liverpool don’t win at Old Trafford and they go and win the other two games – that’s what is expected, but this is where they are at the moment.
“All it is with Man Utd is a bit of consistency and confidence. You only have to win three on the trot and before you know it, you’re back in the top-four race and that’s what they’re in.”
