Manchester United fans are plotting their own downfall with approach to managers and transfers

Manchester United fans are caught in a cycle of misery.

It begins with hope. Hope that a new signing or a new manager will be the one to finally help United get back to the top of the Premier League. We've seen this with Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, yet still the wait goes on.

Then comes the denial. We can't possibly be wrong in thinking this is the club's ticket back to the top. The team are making progress and so we'll definitely be challenging for titles in the next few years.

Anger soon follows as the fans begin to pinpoint scapegoats and lash out when the team aren't getting results.

Then the contingency plans are drawn up. What if United changed the manager? What if they went out and spent millions to improve the squad?

The penultimate stage is sadness - this is where most United fans are right now.

Last but not least, it's acceptance. The problem with this final stage is that not many United fans ever get there, they just skip straight back to the start of the cycle and begin to hope again.

It's hard to accept that something you spend a significant amount of time believing in isn't getting any better but that's what United fans need to do if they're to break the vicious cycle.

Solskjaer was given time to build the project and just because he didn't win anything in three years doesn't mean the club should avoid giving managers time in the future.

It's not just the club who can help stop the cycle, the fans can also play their part. Patience and cautious optimism should be the order of the day and that should start right now with Ralf Rangnick.

He was never going to come in and change everything immediately. It was always going to be difficult for him to achieve a top-four finish as