Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed Manchester United were never going to win the Premier League title this season, defending boss Louis van Gaal in the process.
The Dutchman has come under heavy criticism of late after some relatively poor performances which see his side sit 10 points off league leaders Chelsea.
However, despite criticism, Carragher has backed the Dutch boss and insisted that the Old Trafford outfit were never going to win the title this season after finishing seventh last term.
He told the Daily Mail: “When Louis van Gaal was unveiled last summer, what position did you imagine Manchester United would be in going into the final 10 games?
“If you envisaged them leading the title race, you would have been kidding yourself. There was never any chance of United finishing in front of Chelsea and Manchester City this season, not even after they spent £150m on new players and recruited a coach with a distinguished reputation.
“Yet given the way some people are talking about United at the moment, there seems to be disappointment and mystification that Van Gaal’s team are in the middle of a fight to get into the top four and not perched in top spot, setting an unrelenting pace.”