Manchester United will not make the top five in the Premier League this season, says Gary Neville, although he praised Scott McTominay after his match-winning goals.

Two late goals in the 93rd and 97th minutes from the Scotland international saw Man Utd to a 2-1 victory against Brentford on Saturday – their fourth Premier League success of the season.

But despite the win, Sky Sports pundit Neville says United will finish no higher than sixth, and believes Chelsea are closer to securing a top-five spot.

“I don’t think Manchester United will finish in the top five this season… but they proved me wrong last season after having a very poor start,” he said on the latest Gary Neville Podcast.

Chelsea situation

“Chelsea have got a lot of talented young players. The question mark will be centre-forward and experience if something happens to Thiago Silva.

“Chelsea are not far away if they get a centre-forward and centre-half. Even though they’ve spent £1bn they still need two players.

“I felt sorry for Brentford because I like them a lot. But it was huge. Huge in the sense of it had been such a depressing start to the season and by no stretch of the imagination does beating Brentford at home with two goals in the 93rd and 97th minutes mean that everything is ok. Far from it. It’s a mess.

“They’re way off it and I’m surprised because seven or eight weeks ago I had them third again.

“The goalkeeper hasn’t settled in quickly. That’s a problem. If your goalkeeper isn’t settled in and there’s a bit on instability around that, it does create a big problem. I’ve had it at United.

“Chelsea are probably near to it [the top five] if they can just go on a run because they have got some really talented young players. Their age is a lot better than the Manchester United squad.”