Tuesday 1 November 2016 15:01, UK
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher thinks it would take a "miraculous recovery" for Manchester United to win the Premier League this season.
After Saturday's goalless draw at home to Burnley, Jose Mourinho's side sit eighth in the table having collected just 15 points so far this campaign, leaving them eight adrift of the leading trio of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Portuguese, who replaced Louis van Gaal in the Old Trafford dugout last summer, has recorded four wins in his opening 10 league fixtures, giving him a win rate of just 40 per cent, the worst start in any of his last six managerial jobs.
And it is dropped points against the likes of Watford, Stoke City and Burnley that will be most concerning the United boss, according to Carragher.
"They are not actually winning the games that you would expect them to win," the former Liverpool and England defender said on Monday Night Football.
"I think if they won the league from this position it would be a miraculous recovery. But I think going forward now, there are a lot more questions in terms of Mourinho himself as a manager and his effect, and how long it is taking to get across to the United players.
"And I actually admire Jose Mourinho when he first came in, because we are talking about a team that finished outside the top four last year. He was not talking about top four, he was saying: 'No, we are Manchester United, we are going for the league'.
"And rightly so and the players he bought were players to win the league. You do not buy [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic to think: 'I am building something for two or three years.' You are buying him for right now.
"Even though Pogba, he is not young, he is only 23 and has his best years ahead, but it is a world-record fee, so you are buying him for right now.
"Same for [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan - I do not know what has gone on there. [Eric] Bailly I think has done really well at centre back, but unfortunately he has gone out."
However, with United having spent more money than any of their Premier League rivals last summer - including a world-record outlay on Pogba - Carragher believes the pressure will now be on Mourinho to win the title, if not this season, then next.
"So I think he called it on himself, and rightly so, it is Manchester United and I think they spent more money than anybody else in the summer," he said.
Next season the pressure is massive to go and win the league
"The thing about Manchester United and specifically Jose Mourinho is, he normally always makes an impact when he first comes in and the questions have always been in year three - does that effect wear off?
"So if we are talking about actually building something, and maybe taking a little bit longer, more transfer windows and more changes, will the Mourinho effect still fall away in that third season?
"So you are thinking next season the pressure is massive to go on and if they want to maybe win the league. I think for Manchester United now and Jose Mourinho, they will be looking at top four and trying to get in that."
