Sir Alex Ferguson has advised Jose Mourinho to focus on taking Manchester United to Europa League glory because of the Champions League place that is up for grabs for the competition winners, with the top four looking like it is slipping away from the Portuguese’s grasp.

United currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, though they do have two games in hand on fourth-placed Liverpool with a four-point gap between the two rivals.

But with Arsenal also in the hunt for a top-four finish, United could easily find themselves finishing fifth or sixth, which would result in another season in the second-tier Europa League and a significant reduction on prize and television money. That’s why former manager Ferguson, who took United to the Champions League trophy twice, believes Mourinho should ensure that the side win the Europa League this season to guarantee a place at Europe’s top table.

“The season is still alive,” Ferguson told Sirius XM FC, the US radio station. “They’ve won the League Cup and are in the Europa League and I think they’ve got a great chance there. 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.”

United resume their Premier League campaign this weekend as West Bromwich Albion travel to Old Trafford, buoyed from their 3-1 victory over Arsenal 10 days ago, before the international break. Defeat would leave United facing an uphill battle to get back into the top four, and Ferguson believes that had they not thrown away points in games that they failed to win at home, despite dominating the match, they could well be challenging Chelsea at the top of the table.

Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? Show all 10 1 /10 Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? Impressed: 1/5 Juan Mata: The Spaniard matched his best goalscoring tally of 10 from the two previous seasons as he was the difference against Rostov at Old Trafford. Mata doesn’t always take centre-stage but often is an essential cog in United’s attacking fluency. Against Middlesbrough without Pogba and Herrera the start of United’s attack landed on Mata’s shoulders and he took his chance in March. Getty Images Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? Impressed: 2/5 Antonio Valencia: An ever-present performer for United, the winger converted wing-back has been a blessing for Jose Mourinho and this month was no different. The third against Middlesbrough showed everything to what makes a player above average. 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The unorthodox save in Russia prevented United losing 2-1 and in the home leg, a poor United performance saw Rostov find space to keep Romero on his toes and he matched Sardar Azmoun’s top-corner bound free-kick at the death. Getty Images Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? Impressed: 5/5 Jesse Lingard: Manchester United’s youth product continues to prove his worth time and time again for Mourinho. The Englishman earned a England call-up and even though he is often a substitute for United, against Middlesbrough he was a creative force, regularly providing the key pass for Rashford, but it was his strike from outside the area that once again showed his ability to score from range and score at a crucial point in the game, remind you of anyone? Getty Images Manchester United power rankings: Who's in form and who must improve? 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“I get on well with Jose and think he’s doing a really good job,” Ferguson added. “He’s been a bit unlucky actually because there are home games this season they’ve been absolutely brilliant in but have drawn them. If they’d got those wins they deserved they’d be challenging for the league, there’s no doubt about that.”

One thing that Ferguson made a point of during his trophy-laden 27 years with the club was using success to breed further success, and he believes that Mourinho is already doing the same thing by winning the Community Shield and the League Cup this season.