Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville believes Louis van Gaal's job should not be under threat, even if he fails to guide the club back into the Champions League.
Sky Sports pundit Neville has faced criticism from Van Gaal for his comments about the current side but, even so, he believes the former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Netherlands coach needs to be given time.
David Moyes was sacked by United last season after it become mathematically impossible for his side to qualify for the Champions League, but Neville suggested his successor should not be judged by the same criteria.
When asked by talkSPORT whether failure to finish in the Premier League's top four should mean the end for the United manager, Neville said: "Louis van Gaal should not be sacked, even though it would be a terrible season for Man United and Louis van Gaal. He would probably say it was a big failure because he knows his job this season -- he has to get in the Champions League.
"But, on the other hand, if he didn't, no, you can't just sack a manager one year and then sack another manager the year after. Where do you go from there?
"There has to be a level of continuity. I absolutely believe this time there will be continuity at Man United and they will stand by him even if he doesn't finish in the top four and that's the right thing to do."
Despite Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Swansea City, United remain fourth in the table and Neville believes they will qualify for the Champions League.
"I still think Manchester United will finish in the top four -- I think they will scrape in," he said. "At the start of the season I thought they'd finish third. There is a period in March where they have Arsenal in an FA Cup quarterfinal, then they have Spurs the Sunday after and Liverpool after that. There is an international break and then they have got Aston Villa, Man City and Chelsea.
"That will be a big period but, actually, Van Gaal and Man United started the season really poorly and these big games came along and they seemed to grow.
"I'd like to think these games will inspire some of the bigger players at Man United. They need to step up their performances. There is no doubt about that."