Man United have been close to the top for so long. Is their current approach enough to change that?

All of the above might be true, but the problem is it has also been true for multiple seasons. How do they finally close those fine margins? “Bittersweet” was how head coach Marc Skinner summed up the season after United’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season.

There have been enormous positives: a run to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the club’s first campaign in the competition proper (the same stage Chelsea reached), a long unbeaten run in the middle of the season that included eight consecutive wins and another domestic final, this time the Women’s League Cup (which they lost 2-0 to Chelsea). But, Skinner said, “The bittersweet is because we fell short at the end, and that’s where I’ve got to prepare and try with the resource we have to make sure we don’t do that again”. United’s fourth-place finish, after only winning one of their final 10 games, means they will not compete in the Champions League next season.

The club have firmly established themselves as WSL heavyweights alongside Chelsea, Arsenal and newly-crowned champions Manchester City, but the goal of closing the gap to those sides consistently — not only in occasional games — is proving elusive. Their performance against Chelsea underlined the frustration. United matched their hosts’ 13 shots, with three on target to Chelsea’s four, and had 28 touches in their opponents’ box to Chelsea’s 17.

A Melvine Malard strike from outside the box skimmed the roof of the net after a fast break, Ellen Wangerheim’s header bounced off the woodwork and they failed to take advantage after Julia Zigiotti Olme caught Keira Walsh in possession. They are a side losing out, as Skinner said, on “fine margins”. Closing them is another matter.