Alan Shearer has claimed Manchester United are not in the mix for a top six finish this season, with the Premier League legend insisting Saturday's draw at Tottenham has served Ruben Amorim a reality check.

United rescued a draw from the jaws of defeat in north London, with a late Matthijs de Ligt header snatching Amorim's side a point on the road. 

The Red Devils have enjoyed a resurgence in recent weeks, with wins over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton stirring confidence among the masses.

But back-to-back draws at Forest and Spurs - where they let leads slip on both occasions - shows there is still plenty of work to be done, according to Shearer.

The Newcastle hero believes any ambitions for United to finish in the top six this season - a vast improvement on their 15th place finish last term - should be tempered. 

'The draw at the weekend for Man United is an improvement, yeah,' he told BetFair. 'They're far from the finished article. I still think there's a lot of work to be done, and I don't expect them to finish in the top six.

'I would think somewhere around 6th, 7th, 8th, as I said, for Man United, so that is improvement.

'They were miles off it last season, they were terrible, so for them to finish there and then if they were to finish 6th, 7th, 8th, then yeah, that's improvement. But there's still a lot of work to be done.'

Shearer also shared his view on new man Benjamin Sesko. United spent big in an effort to revamp their attack over the summer - with Sesko joining Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo for a combined £214million. 

The Slovenian is yet to make an impact at Old Trafford, with United legend Gary Neville insisting the striker is 'miles off' the standard of his fellow attackers.

And Shearer has also criticised Sesko's performances, insisting he 'must do better'. 

'One player that must do better is Benjamin Sesko,' he said. 'I guess, after the 70-odd million pound they paid for him. That was a lot of money, it was too much, but that's the market. 

'He's had a tough start. I don't expect huge things from him though, no.

'I think he's a good player, not sure he's any more than that. I guess he came on at the weekend and had two really good chances, should have put at least one of them away. It's been a tough start for him with the money that they've paid.'