Paul Ince believes that a better-protected Harry Maguire and a firing Cristiano Ronaldo can push into the top four, and has backed the Red Devils to see off their rivals come the end of the season.

United were earmarked as favourites to clinch the all-important position before the winter break, but back-to-back draws with and have seen them fail to establish a gap to their rivals.

West Ham, , Tottenham and Wolves are all jostling for position in the race for European football, but United legend Ince believes that the Red Devils are still best placed to qualify for the Champions League.

Paul Ince has backed Manchester United to secure Champions League football next season

'If you look at the teams, Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham… Man United have the best team,' Ince told Sportsmail. 

'[They have] The best players, but the best players don't always win the games and if there are issues, if there is fragmentations in the dressing room and players going to the press and leaking stuff, all this political stuff that is going on at the moment - players not happy, players want to leave, training is rubbish - that could damage them in the race for fourth.

'It would nice to have a content team, like you've got at West Ham, where everyone is fighting and there are no big superstars. They are all fighting for Moyesy [David Moyes], they are all fighting for themselves, there's no egos.

'That can be a major difference than just having a team full of so called superstars.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick has been tasked with finishing in the top four but United have dropped points to Southampton and Burnley recently to raise concerns of their capabilities

Yet United legend Ince insists that the squad has the quality to secure fourth place

'If you put the team on paper you'd still say Man United should still finish fourth. They've got to play Brighton, Leeds and Watford. Although the games you'd expect them to go and win like the Burnleys and Southamptons, they have struggled, they have only picked up two points. Something is not quite right there.

'So that could give an advantage to the likes of West Ham and Arsenal, and dare I say it… Wolves. Looking at the squads, looking at the ability, I'd have to go with Man United.'

United will need their top stars to find form if they are to usurp their rivals to fourth, and two players in particular have come in for criticism in recent weeks.

Captain Harry Maguire's defensive contributions have been heavily scrutinised, with his error at Turf Moor leading to Burnley's equaliser in midweek. 

Ince, believes that Maguire has 'never been the same' since his off-field issues in Mykonos and says United's midfielders must do more to protect the £80million man.

'The thing with Harry Maguire is he is not the quickest,' he said. 'He's not a bad player, everyone loses form and regains form. Harry Maguire is going through a period now where everything he does he is making mistakes and it is getting magnified. 

'For me, it's not just Harry Maguire, it's the midfield. He gets absolutely no protection. If I am playing in midfield with Roy Keane, Harry Maguire does not get isolated like he does at Man United. 

Captain Harry Maguire has received criticism for his defensive contributions for the club

Ince says that the £80million man is not being protected by his team-mates in midfield

'The last thing you want is to have someone like [Armando] Broja who is strong and quick against Harry Maguire, you've got to make sure you've got midfield players around Maguire to protect him and help him out. 

'The amount of times where Steve Bruce wasn't the quickest but I'd come across or Keane or Gary Pallister, because we knew. 

'For so many teams it is so easy to get through United, and that's why we are seeing Maguire getting punished so much because he has no protection whatsoever.' 

Ronaldo is also in the midst of a rare goal drought that have seen his performances questioned by the masses. 

The 37-year-old has failed to find the net in six games, yet Ince believes that the Portuguese will be ready to provide important goals for the club.

'Ronaldo looks frustrated,' he said. 'You can see it with his performances, in his actions sometimes when he shoots off down the tunnel. 

Cristiano Ronaldo is enduring a rare barren run, having failed to score in his last six games

Ince is confident that the Portuguese will score important goals for the club this season

'He doesn't look like a happy person at the moment. I don't blame him. You're playing Burnley, who are bottom of the table, and he is sitting in the stands. I'd be thinking, "hang about you've bought me to play and score goals, whether I'm not scoring goals is besides the point". 

'How many goals has [Edinson] Cavani scored? [Bruno] Fernandes when he first came in was unbelievable, he has gone off the boil. So it's easy to direct it at the big players, and Ronaldo is certainly the biggest one there. 

'He will come back, he will score important goals, it wouldn't surprise me if he did in the Champions League. He did it at the start of the season, he is the reason why Man United are in the last-16. 

'When he started in the Premier League he was scoring goals, but they stopped getting service to him. 

'That's what we have all said from the start - you need to get service to Ronaldo. He is 37. You can't expect him to run around like a kid. Get the ball in the box and he will score goals. But Man United are not set up that way and playing to benefit him, therefore he drops deeper and becomes unproductive.' 

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