Jaap Stam gives Manchester United derby hope but identifies big Man City change

Former Manchester United centre back Jaap Stam has highlighted the gap between his old club and Man City ahead of the derby on Sunday.

Stam played for the Reds between 1998 and 2001, leaving the Theatre of Dreams for Lazio. While in Manchester, Stam won three Premier League crowns, a Champions League and a FA Cup but admitted the current United side is a long way from that success at present.

Speaking on the UTD Podcast, Stam said that City have improved greatly since his playing days in England. He explained: "At the time, the whole situation was different, of course, with City from where they are now.

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"City, at that time, were like, yeah, a team in the league and, of course, there was rivalry between the two of us. Who was strongest in the city of Manchester? Everyone knows who that was.

"At that time, without a doubt, it was United. I still think they can be but the only thing is City have come from far away and been growing, been developing and playing a certain way, with quality players and a certain manager with his philosophy.

"They're on top of the league, at the moment, for several seasons now."

Despite the gap that he believes has been created in recent years, the 49-year-old did not rule out United gaining a result on Sunday. "You can never guarantee not winning [the game, despite the table], we've seen with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] when we won against City," he added.

"Of course, it's good for the club, the manager, the players and the fans to win this game. Especially for the fans, it's very important.

"The only thing is and I find it very important winning this game but also, if you win this game, you