Cape Town - Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes manager Jose Mourinho may need a couple of years to shape the squad he needs to win titles.
The Red Devils lost 2-1 against Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday night, adding another disappointing performance to their unconvincing start to the season.
United have now won only twice in their last seven games in all competitions, and Scholes thinks the poor results may last for up to two years while Mourinho overhauls his squad.
"It's been quite a painful three years," Scholes told BT Sport. "And I think the next 18 months to two years could be very similar until this manager has three or four transfer windows to really get a team that he wants.
"I think this team in two years will be unrecognisable from what it is now. But, whatever we can do in this two years has to be a bonus. Whether they can win the League Cup whether they can win the FA Cup.
"Can they win this competition (Europa League)? It doesn't look like it. And it has shown in the last three years that they are not capable of winning the league with this squad.
"There's three or four better teams in the Premier League. We know this team at this moment in time isn't capable of challenging for the league."
United next travel to the Liberty Stadium where they take on Swansea City in an English Premiership tie on Sunday.
Mourinho will be looking for his team to grab all three points and close the eight-point gap to Manchester City, who sit at the top of the standings.
Kick off is at 16:00