Sunday 11 December 2016 13:08, UK
A win over Spurs could shift the mood at Man Utd - but defeat will leave them a long way off the top four, says Jamie Redknapp.
Manchester United host Tottenham on Sunday - and it's a game Jose Mourinho's side cannot afford to lose.
Should Spurs come away with a rare win at Old Trafford, United will be nine points off fifth spot. That's a huge gap to make up.
We saw United pegged back for a draw late-on against Arsenal the other week and it was a game they really should have won. They were the better team. But when you have those types of games go against you, they play on your mind. You start to think 'where's our next win coming from?'
I'm not sure some of the decisions made by Jose Mourinho help, either. He has a great ability to win matches and we've seen that over the years. But his policy of looking to hold onto leads rather than increase them is back-firing at the moment.
It's easy to say with hindsight, but when he brought on Marouane Fellaini late on against Everton last week you could see what was going to happen.
Sir Alex Ferguson would rather push for another goal than sit back. That was the gambler in him. Jose isn't like that and would rather stick than roll the dice. But I think it's something that he has to change. It's what United are about.
Plus, he doesn't have the great defence he did at Chelsea. I'm not convinced his current United team have the ability to shut teams out like (John) Terry, (Ricardo) Carvalho and co used to at Stamford Bridge.
But the mood around United could change if they can secure a big win this weekend. And that's what I feel they need. A game, a victory, a moment at Old Trafford which shifts the belief.
There are a lot of floating voters at United right now. You can tell some of the fans seem a bit undecided on what's going on. But a good win could be a season-changer and make the crowd and team feel like they're back on track.
The problem they'll face is this Tottenham team are regaining momentum after a tricky few weeks - and they don't have the same fear of Old Trafford that they once did, either.
The gap has closed between these two clubs over the last few years. When I went to Tottenham they hadn't won at Old Trafford in I don't know how many years and every time you went there you could see and feel the players were apprehensive about it.
It's daunting enough as it is to go to Old Trafford, but even more so when you've got a team who don't really feel they can win. Tottenham got so used to getting beaten there.
But you can see now they go to Old Trafford without the fear they used to. There's a collective belief in the Tottenham camp.
More generally, though, Mourinho is having to try to restore that aura United once had. You can't buy it, it comes from making Old Trafford a fortress again and making it the place where, when I first played there, there was an enormity to it, an intimidating place to go.
Now, I think teams are quite enjoying going to Old Trafford. It's nice to go there, you can play without being put under the intense pressure they used to. Teams used to win a corner and do a lap of honour. Now teams are getting chances to play there and getting too much time on the ball.
United can't afford to give this talented Spurs team too much space this weekend.
When I look at Spurs, three players always stand out for me. The three players that are so important to the team in terms of the results and who are missed when they don't play are Moussa Dembele, Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld.
They've struggled to get them on the pitch at the same time this season and that's been a problem. They are the players who could have turned some of those draws into wins. But now they're back, I think the results will start to come for Tottenham.
It will be interesting to see how this game plays out on Sunday. I've gone for a draw, simply because I'm not sure you can be backing United at this moment. They're playing better - but they should be playing better considering the money they've spent and the players they've got - but they're still searching for top form.
They're going to play against a well-organised, confident Tottenham side and I can't see Spurs getting beaten to be honest.
