RED & BURIED

Butt: United are at the bottom of the mountain and there's a massive climb to get back on top

- BY DAVID MCDONNELL

MANCHESTER UNITED legends Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt have delivered a damning verdict on the club's chances of returning to the top any time soon.

United are down in 13th in the Premier League, with the Europa League their only hope of salvaging the club's worst season of the modern era.

More than £1billion has been squandered on players in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, with the Red Devils now further away than ever before from competing for the title.

United endured a 26-year wait for the title until Ferguson won the first of his 13 Premier League crowns in 1993, with Giggs and Butt fearing a similarly long spell to be crowned champions.

Butt (with Giggs, below) branded United's season a "disaster" while Giggs said poor decisions over the past decade have led to the club being at its lowest ebb.

"Over recent years, United has looked like it's a plaster on a gaping wound," said Butt. "It doesn't work.