Gary Neville thinks Man Utd should be challenging for the Premier League title next season but didn’t really expect them to be up there this year.
The Red Devils were top of the table a few weeks ago before two draws and a loss in their last four Premier League matches has allowed Man City to gain control of the title race.
Their latest draw against Everton on Saturday was particularly hard to take with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring deep into injury time to snatch a share of the spoils.
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Reacting to the 3-3 draw with Everton, Neville claims that he never expected Man Utd to mount a title challenge this season but expects better next term.
Neville told his Sky Sports podcast: “It shows where United are right now. They’re just not quite there in terms of winning the title, I never thought they were.
“I never thought they were because the performances weren’t good enough and there was something missing. I didn’t expect them to win the league at the start of the season, they’re not there yet.
“It’s disappointing but it’s not surprising. I think they’re on the right track. I think it’s been clear over the last few weeks with the results, that form is not going to win you the title.
“For me, I don’t expect them to win the title this year. But what I do expect is for them to get closer to Liverpool and Man City and I expect them to challenge next year. I think there’s that sense in the club.”
Meanwhile, a frustrated Bruno Fernandes says Man Utd have to learn from blowing victory against Everton.
Fernandes said: “There are a lot of things to be disappointed with.
“We were making so many mistakes in the last few games and we can’t keep conceding goals like that. We have to be more focused, we have to have the same desire to score and to defend our goal.
“Every time we have to make goals and score goals it has to be the same to not concede and I think we have to learn from this.
“It has already happened a lot of times so it is more than a bit disappointing.
“You talk about everything that is going on but it is about learning and make it better.”