Manchester United are making progress under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, admits Dimitar Berbatov, but the Red Devils have been urged not to get “carried away” as they are still only aiming for the top four when their ambition used to be “all about being the top one”.
A humbling fall from grace has been endured at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson headed into retirement back in 2013.
The odd trophy triumph has been taken in over recent years, but the 13-time Premier League champions are far from being the dominant force they once were.
Success for arch-rivals Manchester City and Liverpool has made that regression all the more difficult to stomach, with there a desire on the part of everyone at the Theatre of Dreams to start closing some sizeable gaps.
Solskjaer’s side have shown in 2020 that they could be on the way back, with January signing Bruno Fernandes leading the charge, but Berbatov is eager to point out that United remain a long way short of hitting a target that was once set on an annual basis.
A man who claimed two titles during his time at Old Trafford told Betfair: “If they can keep this level of performance up to the end of the season then it will be great, and it will give everyone at the club a big boost going into the new season.
“Hopefully, a good run will bring them success and get them into the top four. If that is the case then it can really be the start of something, especially with their young squad and what Solskjaer has been building.
“Their performance against Brighton was great, but now it's over and if they lose the next game, their work will count for nothing. I'm pretty sure other teams will be sitting up and paying attention to how well United are doing at the moment, and how improved they are, especially those teams that are fighting with them for top four.
“Now, consistency is key and we must remember that United have had some good games in the past but haven't really built on that, and they dropped points and didn't achieve their goals.
“Now, I think they have their priority in sight, and if they continue to play the way they have shown they can since the restart they will have a really strong finish.
“The United players shouldn't be getting carried away and I don't think they will be. We are talking about Man United getting into the top four here, while not long ago it was all about being the top one.”
United have - on the back of going unbeaten through their last 14 matches in all competitions - moved to within two points of the Premier League’s top four, while also progressing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and last 16 of the Europa League.