Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand believes his old club can forget about challenging for the Premier League title for the next couple of seasons, regardless of who they appoint as their next permanent manager.
United, who moved back into the top four with a thrilling 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening, are yet to source their permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was sacked back in November. German Ralf Rangnick is temporarily holding the fort until the end of the campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax boss Erik ten Hag are the current frontrunners to land the job and lead the next chapter in the club's history. However, the challenge for whoever succeeds Rangnick promises to be huge.
READ MORE: What Ralf Rangnick told Manchester United players in team talk before Tottenham win
The squad is need of big changes and the culture in and around the first-team squad needs addressing. With that in mind, Ferdinand believes United are going to have to continue riding the waves before the good times return to Old Trafford, pointing to how long it took Liverpool to rediscover their former glories.
"It's not where you want United to be or expect them to be," Ferdinand said, as quoted by the Daily Star. "The culture doesn't get sorted overnight.
"I'd write off the next couple of seasons in terms of expecting to challenge. Get all the basics right, the fundamentals and foundations so you can have a sustained period of trying to compete.
"The fans aren't stupid, they're not silly, I don't think they'll be surprised by that. In any walk of life, to be successful you're at a low ebb, you have to go through a bit of pain to get the sunny days where it's brighter. United are no different.
"With Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, it wasn't overnight success. It takes time to put the building blocks in place to challenge year after year."
Although United, in Ferdinand's opinion, remain a few years away from challenging for the title, they remain in with a chance of winning the Champions League this season, even if they are not considered as being amongst the favourites. They face Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their last-16 showdown on Tuesday evening and the former United defender believes they could use Chelsea's surprise triumph in the competition last season to provide them with belief.
"They've got to use someone like Chelsea last season as an inspiration," Ferdinand added. "Once Thomas Tuchel took over that team, nobody expected them to go and win the Champions League, but they went and did it. If they give the crowd something to shout about in the opening minutes then it can change everything for them."
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