‘I’m not sure it really matters’; pundit names ‘best’ manager for Man Utd who won’t make top three

Joleon Lescott feels Manchester United will still be a long way from challenging for the title regardless of who comes in as their next permanent manager.

The Red Devils parted company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earlier this season, with Ralf Rangnick now at the helm. But the German will give way at the end of the campaign and many names have been mentioned as candidates. Any new boss will have plenty of issues to deal with.

United sat fourth heading into the weekend’s fixtures but they have been far from a cohesive unit this term. The jury is still out on whether luring Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford has had a positive effect.

Rumours of dressing room unrest have been denied but it has been a stuttering season to date. They are 20 points adrift of table-topping Manchester City.

Talk of the next man to helm the Theatre of Dreams is ongoing. But Lescott believes the margin between United and the rest is too wide, regardless of who is appointed.

“Though the battle for fourth is their immediate priority, I would imagine talk has already begun about this summer and who their top choice is to take over from Ralf Rangnick,” he told Livescore.

“Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag continue to be strongly linked – but I’m not sure it really matters who comes in next.

“For me, the gap between Manchester United and the trio of City, Liverpool and Chelsea is now simply too big for a new boss to bridge quickly.”

United last won the Premier League title in 2012-2013, Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge. They have tried David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho in addition to Solskjaer.

None of the quartet has been able to bring home the title. Lescott has his theory on who might be a decent fit at the club.

But the