Manchester United legend Denis Irwin insists he can see improvement in Louis van Gaal's team.
United have only the FA Cup to play for this season.
But Irwin said: "It's a period of change. There was a tough time last year under Moyes and whoever took over from Alex was going to find it difficult.
"There's a new manager this year with new ideas. It has been a learning curve this year.
"But I think defensively there has been huge progress since the start of the season.
"Now they're in a battle for a top four. You can accept Chelsea are going to go on and win the league - they've eight games from 14 to play at home.
"City are floundering a bit but you'd expect them to finish second. So we're in a battle for fourth - it's as simple as that."
