The Glazer family were not present at the Etihad Stadium for the latest painful reality check at the weekend, not that Manchester United needed another reminder of just how far behind the leading pack they are.
Whoever takes charge of United on a permanent basis in the months ahead faces the unenviable, if not impossible, task of not only catching up with Man City and Liverpool, but somehow then overtaking them both as well. As long as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp remain in their current roles, it almost seems irrelevant to include United as part of any serious consideration.
False optimism was harboured last season when United finished second in a season which was highly misleading. With no hostile crowds or a real feeling of pressure on matches, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side effectively finished runners-up in a training ground competition, hardly the benchmark for real progress.
