A top-four for Man United still ‘in hand’ despite West Ham loss: Club legend Denis Irwin

Having won the Carabao Cup this season under manager Erik Ten Hag, Irwin feels that Manchester United should compete for trophies regularly under the Dutchman.

In the city for the ‘United We Play’ - the grassroots programme by Apollo Tyres and the club, Denis Irwin spent some time with the young talents. | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Emmanual Yogini

A string of defeats against Brighton and West Ham have put Manchester United in the fourth spot of the Premier League table. As the race for the last-four finish intensifies, Denis Irwin - one of the legends of the club - believes that the Reds’ top-four bid is still in their own hands.

In the city for the ‘United We Play’ - the grassroots programme by Apollo Tyres and the club, Irwin spent some time with the young talents and handed over the club jerseys to four winners - Freddy Jyrwa, Thangminlun Touthang, Aaryav Da Costa and Niall Goghavala - who will travel to Old Trafford.

While interacting with the youngsters on Tuesday morning, Irwin also shared his thoughts with Sportstar on Manchester United’s season so far and what lies ahead…

Q. What are your thoughts on the United We Play initiative?

I have been to India nine times in the last 10 years and I can see the game of football is growing enormously. This is my third or fourth visit to Mumbai and I can see it has grown where it needs to grow - at the grassroots level.

In this initiative by Apollo Tyres through ‘United We Play’, they have done all over India and have encouraged young players to play and given them a chance to go across to Old Trafford next year and see what’s it at the top-level.

Irwin handed over the club jerseys to four winners of the ‘United We Play’ programme - Freddy Jyrwa, Thangminlun Touthang, Aaryav Da Costa and Niall Goghavala - who will travel to Old Trafford. | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Emmanual Yogini

Hopefully, they will get some inspiration by getting that far. Generally, it’s from Apollo to encourage youngsters to play football because it’s not only when you get at the grassroots level and have quality coaches there, the standard of football will improve. It’s a great initiative.

Q. From Sir Alex Ferguson to Erik ten Hag - Manchester United has come a long way. Being one of the icons of the club, how do you see the journey?

Everybody knew when Sir Alex decided to retire that there would be a bit of a tough time. But I don’t think people realised how tough it was and over the last nine-ten years, we have been up and down.

We have won a few trophies, but we have not even competed in the Premier League title race for quite a while and that’s awful. This year has been a big plus for us, because we struggled last year and finished a distant sixth.

We got a trophy under our belt - the Carabao Cup - and we got into the FA Cup final and will be taking on Manchester City, but we also know that we want to finish in the top-four, which is massive for us this year. We want to be involved in the top-table of European football, so it’s kind of a gradual step.

We have made a big step this year, but we need to keep improving next season and there’s no guarantee - we have to sign a couple of players - but we feel we have got the right man (Ten Hag) and we are heading in the right direction. But there’s still a lot of hard work to go before we compete for that Premier League.

Q. What is Manchester United’s realistic chance of finishing in the top-four this season?

Well, it’s in our hands. As we stand, Liverpool is a point behind us. We have got a game in hand (to Liverpool). Brighton, last night, is kind of involved. So are Spurs and Newcastle. We are in there, we have got three home fixtures in the last four.

Our home form has been excellent, it’s our away form that has let us down. We are looking a bit jaded, a bit tired as we played the most in Europe this year. So, it’s a matter of making sure that we win and get off the line, top-four is very, very important.

Not just playing in the Champions League, but testing the quality of players as well for Manchester United playing Champions League next year. It’s huge but it’s in our hands.

Q. What have you made of Ten Hag’s progress with the club in his first season?

You never know when a new coach comes in, especially one that downgraded Ajax not just in their league but in European football as well. He came in, pre-season, it was brilliant.

You could tell he’s a man who wants to have discipline, wants the players the way he wants to play. We had a really good pre-season. I think we signed some really good players in Martinez, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia.

I think that’s improved enormously because we were a distant sixth last year and were floundering as well. So, we have made a huge step in not just the players we have signed, but with the manager as well. We just need to back the manager up now.

This is a big, big couple of months for us to make sure we finish in the Champions League position. And also that we (need to) sign a couple of good quality players to bring us up to the next level. So he’s been brilliant for us, you gotta say that.

Q. After the recent wobble, what are the chances of United qualifying for the Champions League next season?

In the last two away games - against Brighton and West Ham - we have particularly looked tired in the second half. We look like a team who does not have a lot of goals at the moment.

So, what we got to make sure is that in the next three games, we get enough points and that’s important for us. We have the FA Cup final against Manchester City next month, so we gotta make sure that we finish in the top-four because that’s huge.

Q. The United fans seem to be divided over this, but do you think that it’s time for Manchester United to look beyond David De Gea to suit Ten Hag’s playing style?

No. I think it’s fair enough to say that to get us to the next level, now we need a centre forward. You’ve watched this season, and particularly in the last two or three months, that we need a centre forward that kind of guarantees your goals and that will bring us to the next level. And getting into the Champions League, I think that will help us enormously.

Q. Which are the areas do you think the club needs strengthening in the transfer market to challenge for the Premier League?

A centre forward is the first and foremost (requirement). Anything after that will be a huge bonus.

Q. Who have been the players that have caught your eye this season?

So we have always had a mixture of young lads coming through from the academy. It’s fair to say that (Alejandro) Garnacho has made a big stride from playing in the youth last season to making it to the pre-season tour and then playing a few games. A big impact player coming off the bench, it’s unfortunate that he’s been injured over a month and a half.

Irwin said that Alejandro Garnacho has been one of United’s most promising prospects, as a starter as well as an impact player. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Another point of view is that I think the players we’ve signed are good leaders - in particular Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro.

They have been two major influential signings for us. They have brought in aggressiveness and that’s what we need in the Premier League. And, I think, that’s something we were lacking in the last couple of seasons.

Q. Over the last few years, a few big stars have moved on from United and some have also exited the Premier League. How much of an impact has it had on the team and the league?

The Premier League is fantastic. It’s obviously the most watched league in the world. And you can see why!

I mean there were three games last night and goals galore. You look at Arsenal last season and you wouldn’t have thought they had a challenge in the Premier League this season.

Manchester City is very good, Liverpool challenged last season, not quite so this time. That’s really the beauty about the Premier League. I think there’s number of clubs that can win the Premier League and challenge. The quality of players that are coming into the Premier League are getting better and better. And I think that’s why it is the most watched league in the world.

You’ll have superstars and normal players featuring in the Premier League and as a package, it’s getting better and better all over the world. It’s a great watch.

Q. The road ahead for United in the next five years?

Where do I see the club in the next three to five years? Well, certainly in five years time, I want the club to win a Premier League title, probably to challenge in the next two or three seasons.

Having watched Arsenal last season and seeing where we are this season, with a couple of players, we won’t be that far away.

Even next season, I don’t think we will be that far away from challenging. We do challenge, but certainly I want them to keep winning trophies on a more regular basis. And, the Premier League’s massive, and on the back of that, the challenge for the Champions League as well. We must get into the Champions League this season.