Manchester United news: Gary Neville says Jose Mourinho can't win the title this season, but backs him for success

Neville believes Mourinho needs another one or two transfer windows to turn United into genuine title contenders

Gary Neville does not believe Jose Mourinho's Manchester United can win the title this season (Getty)

Gary Neville does not believe Manchester United have the squad to win the Premier League title this season, but the former defender stressed that he already sees the makings of a championship-winning team under Jose Mourinho.

Neville called the shots on Sky Sports as United held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in what proved to be a largely forgettable affair. United had David De Gea to thank as he made two fantastic saves in the second half to deny Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a close-range header that could have sewn up three points for the visitors.

Speaking after the match, Neville joined former teammate Ryan Giggs and Monday Night Football colleague Jamie Carragher in criticising the performances of both teams in what proved to be an anti-climax, and the former Valencia manager added that Mourinho is yet to put his finishing touches on the squad despite spending over £145m in the summer transfer window.

“It tells you where United are but they aren't ready (to win the league),” Neville said of the performance at Anfield.

“It's like when he [Mourinho] went back to Chelsea and admitted he couldn't win the title. They (United) don't have the quality. They didn't get enough set pieces but also failed on the counter attack because players were so deep. “

Neville was quick to stress though that he was not writing Mourinho’s chances off, with the Portuguese signing a three-year contract upon his arrival at Old Trafford to replace Louis van Gaal in the summer.

Since breaking onto the European stage with Porto, Mourinho has always won a domestic league title within two seasons, and Neville believes that he will add further in the transfer window – either in January or next summer – to put his finishing touches onto what could develop into a title-winning squad.

“[There’s been] Three bad transfer windows at United,” Neville said of Van Gaal’s reign. “I think his [Mourinho’s] team will have gone up in his estimations in terms of resilience and in terms of focus.

“At Chelsea in his first season he signed a few players and then completed the jigsaw in the second season. He'll know already what he does and doesn't want.

“There's no reason at this stage not to trust Jose Mourinho. He's got money and they'll support him in the transfer window… as long as he does win it next season.”