Manchester United will not make the top five in the Premier League this season, says Gary Neville, although he praised Scott McTominay after his match-winning goals.
Two late goals in the 93rd and 97th minutes from the Scotland international saw Man Utd to a 2-1 victory against Brentford on Saturday – their fourth Premier League success of the season.
But despite the win, Sky Sports pundit Neville says United will finish no higher than sixth, and believes Chelsea are closer to securing a top-five spot.
“I don’t think Manchester United will finish in the top five this season… but they proved me wrong last season after having a very poor start,” he said on the latest Gary Neville Podcast.
“Chelsea have got a lot of talented young players. The question mark will be centre-forward and experience if something happens to Thiago Silva.
“Chelsea are not far away if they get a centre-forward and centre-half. Even though they’ve spent £1bn they still need two players.
“I felt sorry for Brentford because I like them a lot. But it was huge. Huge in the sense of it had been such a depressing start to the season and by no stretch of the imagination does beating Brentford at home with two goals in the 93rd and 97th minutes mean that everything is ok. Far from it. It’s a mess.
“They’re way off it and I’m surprised because seven or eight weeks ago I had them third again.
“The goalkeeper hasn’t settled in quickly. That’s a problem. If your goalkeeper isn’t settled in and there’s a bit on instability around that, it does create a big problem. I’ve had it at United.
“Chelsea are probably near to it [the top five] if they can just go on a run because they have got some really talented young players. Their age is a lot better than the Manchester United squad.”
McTominay came on as an 87th-minute substitute on Saturday, before firing home twice in quick succession. Having also come through the Man Utd academy, Neville defended the 26-year-old after criticism online.
“I was happy for Scott McTominay,” he added. “The stuff I’ve seen on social media over the last few weeks, that’s when it’s the classic a club is falling apart when you start to have your fanbase and media people questioning the work ethic of a kid who has come through the academy.
“Sorry, I’m not having that. That’s one kid who will run through a brick wall for the club. That’s the weight on his shoulders and the pressure and feeling of completely not having the support in the club to be able to actually wear your legs down.
“I’ve talked about heavy legs in a young player, last season with Arsenal in a title run-in we saw it.
“What we’ve seen from Scott McTominay in the last few weeks is being outstanding for Scotland and then he comes back to play right of a diamond against Brighton and he looks like his legs have gone.
“All of a sudden you see clips on social media of him not running back. I wouldn’t look at that as anything other than pressure and carrying the world on his shoulders from being a Manchester United kid since the age of five.
“Saturday was a big moment for him and I was happy for a few of the payers that came back in because they’ve been battered and that’s what happens when you’ve got a club that’s failing. You end up not knowing who’s the good guys and bad guys. You end up calling [out] the ones that have been there a long time.
“They’ve got some good lads who have come in and bought into the club. They’ve got some good lads who have come through the ranks.
“The big question mark at the moment is the stability that runs right through the club and it’s not there.”