Amad calls on fans to stay patient, Manchester United aims at the top five in the new season, challenging the 61-year record

Manchester United winger Amad Diallo set an ambitious goal for the team at the beginning of the new season: to reach the top five in the Premier League. The Ivory Coast international admitted that if this goal can be achieved, it will be a "good season" for the Red Devils. At the same time, he also called on fans to give the team patience to deal with the running-in period brought by new coaches, new players and new tactics.

Amad's confidence is based on the background of the team's fall to a trough last season. Although his personal performance is remarkable and has become one of the few highlights in the team, Manchester United only ranked 15th in the standings in the 2024-25 season, setting the worst league ranking since relegation in 1974.

However, the ranking jump pursued by Amad is from 15th to 5th, which means 10 places are promoted in a single season, which is a huge challenge for Manchester United. The last time the club accomplished a similar feat dates back to the distant years of 1962-1964. At that time, after ranking 19th in the 1962-63 season, Manchester United soared 17 places in just one season, winning the league runner-up in 1963-64 season, second only to champion Liverpool. That epoch-making season also witnessed the birth of the legendary "Divine Trinity" composed of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law. If there were no geniuses of similar level as the Golden Ball, it is conceivable that it would be difficult for Manchester United to replicate such a shocking reversal. After entering the Premier League era, the Red Devils' ranking has never improved by more than 4 places in a single season, and the biggest increase is from 6th to 2nd place under Mourinho's rule (2016-2018).

Amad did not back down. After Manchester United's first warm-up match in the new season, he firmly said to the media: "For us, a good season is to enter the top five. I hope we can achieve this goal by the end of the season, and I think we deserve this result."

"Fans need to be patient with us," Amad added, "We have ushered in a new coach, new players and new tactical system. The team's performance last season was indeed not satisfactory, but I believe that under his leadership this season, we will win many games and eventually achieve excellent results."

analysis pointed out that in the era of Premier League dominated by gold and dollar football and increasingly stable status as a giant, it is more difficult to achieve a significant jump in ranking than in the past. Although Manchester United's deep trough last season was an accident, the ranking leap that Amad envisioned in the modern Premier League is not without precedent. Leicester City created the most amazing counterattack myth of the Premier League era in the 2015-16 season, jumping 13 places from No. 14 in the previous season (starting higher than No. 15 in Manchester United last season) and finally won the championship miraculously. Diallo and Manchester United's goals for the new season will undoubtedly be an impact on this historic challenge.