INCE WARNS OLE’S YOUNGSTERS WILL FACE A LONG HAUL
PAUL INCE fears Manchester United face a ‘long, hard road’ back to the top that could take at least three or four years to complete.
United were all-conquering domestically during Ince’s days at Old Trafford as he helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s team knock their old rivals off their ‘f***ing perch’, as Fergie famously put it.
But the pendulum has swung back towards Liverpool, another of Ince’s old teams, these days and they go into today’s Anfield clash as European and world champions, and
Premier League champions elect, 27 points clear of United with a game in hand.
Ince said: “When I played for United and we were going to Anfield we always felt we’d win because we thought we had the best team.
“Now it’s completely reversed and United are probably going to Liverpool thinking, ‘We hope we get a point and something out of the game’.
“That should never be the case. Every United team, when they play home and away, should expect to win.
“I was at Old Trafford for the Wolves game on Wednesday and I was looking at the game, the team, the players and thinking, ‘Wow, they’re not bad players but are they the players who in two, three or four years’ time are going to be taking Manchester United to the Premier League title, the Champions League title, those types of trophies?’
“And I didn’t see that they are. “I don’t see enough in that team to say, ‘Yes, in two or three years’ time that team will be competing with Liverpool, competing with Manchester City’. And it’s not even just City and Liverpool. “You’ve got to think Mikel Arteta will probably bring something big at Arsenal. Frankie Lampard at Chelsea, he’ll be doing something good. “Now you’ve Jose Mourinho at Tottenham and he’s going to spend money.
“If you look at all that we can talk about United closing the gap on City and Liverpool but we’re forgetting about all the other teams who are building now.
“So it’s going to be a long, hard road for Manchester United.
“I said at the time I thought the club rushed to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but I accept he’s in the hotseat now.
“We know the vision he has got with the younger players but these young players are not Paul Scholes, David Beckham – they had Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson, Peter Schmeichel playing in the same team, world-class players, and United haven’t got that now. So it’s going to be a tough job.”
Paul Ince is a Paddy Power ambassador. To read more go to http:// news. paddypower. com