It's been nearly four years since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down from his position as manager of Manchester United and only now does it look as though they have the right man at the helm to replace him.

Two miserable spells under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal threatened to set the club back, while Ryan Giggs could only do so much to salvage the mess the former had left.

United may not have been dominant from the off under Mourinho, but their recent form has got everyone connected with the club optimistic for the future.

As it stands, United are four points off fourth place and a spot in next season's Champions League. Failure to qualify for the competition again would represent a huge blemish on Mourinho's maiden campaign.

But despite being within touching distance of the top four, Sir Alex Ferguson has said he hopes the Portuguese tactician will aim to bring the Europa League title home to guarantee their passage into next season's Champions League.

Even though United haven't tasted defeat in the league since a 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in October, Ferguson believes that success in Europe is the only way to guarantee their passage into Europe's most elite club competition.

"The season is still alive. They’ve won the League Cup and are in the Europa League and I think they’ve got a great chance there," he said, as per The Sun.

"It’s very important now because if you win it, you’re into the Champions League and at the moment the Premier League is a real fight for the positions behind Chelsea with Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, ourselves.

"It’s not going to be easy to get into the top four.

"They could do it but I look on the Europa League as a great chance. First of all, the club has never won the Europa League.

"It adds to the CV so I think we’ve got a good opportunity.”

He does have a point, when we use phrases like 'they've won everything there is to win in the game' we often tend to overlook the Europa League, which is a real shame because it is not an easy tournament to win.

Champions League qualification would also likely give the club a better chance at retaining star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who will no doubt be keen to give himself another crack at adding that elusive winner's medal to his already huge collection.