Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted on Tuesday that Manchester United will not be capable of competing for the Premier League title next season in a stark assessment of the current gulf between his side and Wednesday's opponents Manchester City.
United take on City at Old Trafford on Wednesday 22 points behind the reigning champions and 24 adrift of leaders Liverpool, despite coach Solskjaer initially going a dozen league games unbeaten after succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho.
The weekend's 4-0 hammering at Everton was their third defeat in their five matches since and the 46-year-old called for patience when asked if he thought his squad was capable of competing for the title next season.
"I don't think we've got the consistency to do that," said the former United striker.
"Over the last 18 games, we're not far away from them but it's doing it over the course of a season.
"We've done it for half a season now. Let's see. You can never say never."
- 'Realistic' -
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"It has to be the right quality, right personality, the right standards to get us back to where we want to be."
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