Former captain Roy Keane believes Manchester United still have plenty to play for this season despite their recent stuttering performances.
United, who currently lie seventh in the Premier League table, have attracted plenty of criticism in recent weeks and months following a series of uninspiring performances, despite their results having improved under the guidance of interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ahead of Saturday evening's clash with Aston Villa, Rangnick had won four of his first seven games at the helm, losing just once, meaning the club's fortunes have improved since the German landed the position in late November, even if their performances have lacked the entertainment and energy that everyone associated with the club is craving.
Despite Rangnick having struggled to get United's players to immediately understand his preferred 4-2-2-2 formation, with pressing a key element of that system, Keane believes there are positives to take from recent results, including Monday evening's FA Cup win over Villa.
Keane told Sky Sports : "There seems to be an obsession now with pressing as being the new buzzword in football and I have not really seen too much of it so far from the group.
"But we have got to give the manager a chance. There are a lot of problems at Man United and I don't think they necessarily have the players who want to play that pressing game.
"I don't think their stats from the other night were great, but they got the most important stat which was scoring a goal and keeping a clean sheet. There are positives there."
When asked if there was a buy-in from United's players into Rangnick's approach, Keane continued: "Probably not yet. Probably not yet. I still think everyone is sussing each other out.
"There are still question marks, I suppose even about the manager's future, as well as the players' futures, whose contracts are up. There are a lot of loose ends at Man United that need tidying up.
"I know there is a new chief executive coming in and I am not saying that is going to fix everything, but I think the fact that a lot of the players' contracts are up is a good thing for whoever might come in during the summer, as we talk about recruitment being very, very difficult in football.
"The hardest part can sometimes be getting rid of players so I am trying to look at the positives; they have got an FA Cup tie coming up at home to a Championship team, they're still in Europe and I think they have a chance of getting fourth.
"That is where Man United are at the moment. Of course, they are short of winning titles but I still think there is a lot to play for for this football team."
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