Is it really so far-fetched that they could finish behind City, Chelsea, Arsenal and one of Spurs/Liverpool? Because I think fifth would represent a massive failure on his part.
Based on what little we've seen in pre-season, Liverpool and Arsenal both look better than the Manchester clubs, maybe even Spurs too. Chelsea however do not, they really do not.
I'm guessing they're basing it on how much they did in the league rather than how good they actually were, because none of them were better than Ronaldo.