Gary Neville has assessed Erik ten Hag's start to life at Manchester United after the Red Devils secured their fifth successive Premier League win with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday.
Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford earned the Red Devils a major scalp in the Manchester derby after Jack Grealish had given the visitors the lead at Old Trafford. It was a result that moved United temporarily into third - within a point of Pep Guardiola's City - and five ahead of fifth-place Tottenham before Newcastle's win over Fulham.
After losing his first two games in charge against Brighton and Brentford, Ten Hag has guided United to 12 wins from 16 top-flight matches - a run that has seen them climb into a somewhat of a title race. The Dutchman has managed to get the best out of a previously out-of-form Rashford, while Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are playing at their highest level for years.
Neville told Sky Sports : "If you'd said to me United would've had a back four of Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw at centre-back, with [Tyrell] Malacia at left-back, and a front three of Bruno, [Anthony] Martial and Rashford - seven or eight months ago, I'd have said United were in big trouble.
"Erik ten Hag is doing an unbelievable job there. He's still got a team that looks, on paper, well below what it needs to be. But he's extracted everything he needs from them.
"Casemiro in midfield, big signing. It was a really good decision from Ten Hag to put Fred in [against City]. That United midfield at the Etihad earlier in the season was McTominay, Eriksen and Fernandes, putting another solid blocking player in with Fred was a masterstroke.
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"It meant the game was more difficult for City, and Casemiro has been absolutely outstanding. Authority, composure, Man Utd's midfield was the problem for many years, and actually that's their strongest part of the team and instead they need additions at the back and upfront."
Ten Hag has had to deal with some awkward situations during his time at the Red Devils so far, including Cristiano Ronaldo's dramatic exit and Harry Maguire's complete drop off from form.
The United boss also had to oversee a massive overhaul in the summer, with a number of players leaving at the end of their contracts including Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.
"I'm mesmerised by the job Ten Hag has done," continued Neville.." If you'd have said to me four months ago this is where Man Utd will be, I'd have said no chance.
"I'd have said they're finishing halfway down the table, the way they were. Coming off the back of last season, the start of this season, I thought they were absolutely nowhere near. I thought they overpaid for Antony, I thought they overpaid for Casemiro. It looked like the usual Man Utd panic.
"So it's worth noting in moments like this that we shouldn't go too far, but the job the manager has done not only on the pitch but with the players, how he's brought them together and that spirit, the way he's dealt with big situations."
Neville now thinks United have a great chance of hunting down Arsenal and Manchester City at the top.
"They've got an opportunity to get close to these two teams at the top," he added. "I don't think they can win the title, but the fact we're even talking about the fact they could be level with Arsenal in a couple of weeks is unheard of.
"The club still needs to be sold, the Glazers need to do that in the next month or two. I think that would give even more confidence to the club that they've got the right manager, and they've hopefully got better owners who have got the money the club need and rather than extracting money from the club, they put money into it."
