Although they are ranked 6th now, but with their mediocre and even disappointing performances, it will make fans or anyone else feel that they will not be able to maintain their current position. For me personally it's not just the standings, it's the pattern of play they show too. sometimes some people don't care about the standings, but if their play is promising it will make them satisfied. Logically, when their play is good and promising, then their ranking in the standings will follow as well as their performance. I'm sure you know what I mean.
In fact, everything matters and without a good game, it is very difficult to achieve a good position in the table. Here is an example of a team that comes next after Manchester United, in seventh place is Newcastle, a team that shows a very promising game, giving everything in every match, but they are even lower in the table, so fans need victories and although would be top 4.
Agree, what Manchester United and Newcastle show is very different on the field, this is even shown by the statistics of goals scored for Manchester United - 13, for Newcastle - 27, but the teams are side by side with a difference of only one point.