5 steps Manchester United must take to return to where they belong | Premier League 2019-20

#3 Stop living in the past and accept the reality

Manchester United once won titles for fun

Manchester United fans pride themselves on being the most successful club in English football history but the reality is that they are no longer anywhere near being considered an elite club (by performance on the field).

They have not lifted the Champions League since 2009, the Premier League since 2013 and perhaps most damningly, they are light years away from genuinely being contenders in both competitions.

Another mantra held onto by fans is the club's tradition of having produced legendary players from the United academy but again, this is a false dawn and supporters would do well to get rid of it.

Marcus Rashford is the only academy graduate to have truly broken into the first-team in the last decade and while Scott McTomminay has impressed thus far, it is to early to gauge his overall impact.

The club were lucky to have so many talented players come through at the same time in the academy who progressed to form the backbone of the first successful era of Ferguson's tenure but such group of players do not come around every time.

It's been seven years since the last member of the famed 'Class of '92' kicked a ball in a United jersey and since their graduating class, Manchester United have not come anywhere close to producing players of such quality.

In keeping to terms with current trends, the club would have to spend a lot of money to get back to the top and fans would have to make do with not too many academy graduates cutting it in the first team.

Manchester United are currently miles off the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool and they are no longer an attractive draw for the top talents and fans of the club would do well to accept this, limit expectations, and face the current realities.