Diego Forlan hoping Manchester United are competing for trophies next season

Diego Forlan hopes his former club Manchester United end the campaign on a high and can improve enough to compete for silverware next term.

United are going to end a fifth straight season without a trophy and Ralf Rangnick’s sixth-placed Red Devils are also on course to miss out on Champions League qualification.

Bookmakers consider Arsenal and Tottenham better bets to secure a top-four finish, which would mean United enter a crucial summer in an even tougher predicament.

The search for a new permanent manager is under way and an underperforming squad needs reshaping in the coming months, with former Red Devils striker Forlan hoping things will improve.

“Now that the World Cup is coming, everybody is asking ‘who do you think is going to win?’” he told the PA news agency.

“There’s so many teams that have the opportunity to win the World Cup and it’s only one who is going to win it. To go through those phases, you will have to beat teams and those teams are going to have to lose.

“This kind of thing is going to happen (in the club game) with Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, the other teams. The big ones.

“It’s difficult for you to win every season. The thing to do is to be there.

“When you are in this kind of situation playing with the big ones, it’s disappointing to lose but it’s football and you know it can happen.

“Of course Manchester United is a team that everybody expects them to win but sometimes it’s difficult.

“When other teams beat you, you will have to finish the league the best you can and then for the next season try to improve what you did wrong.”

Forlan was coy when asked about the managerial position as he did not feel au fait with what is happening, but he believes the club know