Manchester United legend Roy Keane is hoping for a cup run and an “improvement” on last campaign as new head coach Erik ten Hag gears up for his first season in charge at Old Trafford.

While he is aware that a top-four finish will be the main ambition, Keane would like to see his former team do more than the bare minimum expected of them:

“I don’t think that should be your mindset going into a season that you’d settle for fourth. You’re obviously going to do as well as you can and you’re competing to get into the Champions League; for financial reasons, the brand, the club, the top players want to play in that. But you shouldn’t be ruling out that you can still win a cup competition, [it was a] disastrous season and you’d like to think there will be some improvement, but I wouldn’t just sit there – as poor as they are and go; ‘I’d settle for top four’. I wouldn’t.”

Keane is right to say that United should be aiming their sights higher but, coming off the back of the club’s worst finish in Premier League history, there’s nothing wrong with keeping expectations in check.

Finishing fourth will not be a given either. Tottenham are likely to be stronger than last season, while Arsenal have also bought well. United will need to see big improvements under ten Hag to make sure they are in contention at the top of the table when the campaign ends in May.