Roy Keane has admitted he is "not convinced" by some Man Utd stars and concedes his former club are still "a long way" behind their Premier League rivals.
The ex-United skipper gave his views on Sky Sports' The Football Show, where he claimed there was still work to be done in United's "recovery".
United had gone on a 10-game unbeaten run before the enforced break, and looked to be back on track following the arrivals of Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo.
But Keane was quick to play down any excitement.
"I think there was certainly a feel-good factor at United over the last couple of games," he said. "Also in the back of your mind you’re thinking [Paul] Pogba can get back, [Marcus] Rashford can get fit towards the end of the season which will be a big boost for them.
"But there’s still a long way back for United yet. I still think they’re a long way behind [Man] City and obviously Liverpool.
"The signs are a lot better than they were 6-12 months ago. The signings have settled in very very well.
"They’ll only get better with time and if they can have a good finish to the season they can get one or two players again in the summer then that’s another big step.
"In terms of their recovery there's still a bit to go yet."
Despite United's squad now looking increasingly stronger under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Keane pinpointed areas for improvement.
Left-back Luke Shaw was singled out for questioning by Keane, who also has reservations about some of United's other defenders.
When asked what position United most needed reinforcements, the pundit replied: "When you talk about the big clubs and what they need everyone talks about attacking players, I still think they need one or two defenders.
"I’m still not convinced with the centre halves, I'm certainly not convinced with Shaw."
