Although any number of fans may agree with him, Jose Mourinho has taken the remarkable option of publicly declaring how low Manchester United have fallen.
Subsequent to another disappointing draw this weekend, after United's 2-2 draw with Southampton, Mourinho revealed that he believed it would take a "miracle" for the club to finish within the Premier League's top-four.
Speaking to the Brazilian TV broadcaster RedeTV (translation by The Times), Mourinho had been asked what his hopes are for the remainder of the 2017/18 season.
"To win as many points as possible," Mourinho began. "Try [to achieve] almost the miracle of finishing fourth."
Claiming once more that last season's second-placed finish "was a fantastic thing because of the qualities wer had in comparison to the quality of the other teams that are fighting for the top four," Jose Mourinho clearly believes that nothing near a repeat of that is possible this season.
Sitting eight points shy of fourth-placed Arsenal after 14-games of the current season, defeat on Wednesday night to Unai Emery's side would likely confirm the accuracy of Mourinho's sentiments.
However, in publicly uttering such a summation of the season that lays it ahead, it is difficult to ascertain how long the Portuguese believes he will remain in his current role.
In the case of his immediate predecessors Louis van Gaal and David Moyes, failure to qualify for the Champions League proved decisive in securing their departure from Manchester United.
Memorably, United did finish 6th in Mourinho's first season in charge of the club. However, a Europa League win was enough to secure their place in the next season's Champions League.
