Following back-to-back defeats in the FA Cup and Premier League which have drained much of the momentum from Manchester United’s revival under interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Serbian midfielder, Nemanja Matic, has warned his teammates to make sure they do relent in their efforts not miss out on finishing in the top four and securing UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.
According to the United midfielder, he says a top-four finish is still in their sights. Saturday’s 2-1 disappointing FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers came after a 2-0 loss against arch-rivals, Arsenal, at the Emirates Stadium last week.
And with eight games left to play in the league, fifth-placed United are a point ahead of Chelsea, but two points adrift of Arsenal and three behind Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the Champions League qualification spots.
“We have to give our best now to reach the top four. We cannot let it go like this,” Matic told reporters. “There is a lot to play for. We have eight games to play in the Premier League and we are fighting for the top four. We have the Champions League as well. We will see what we are able to do and how much quality we have.”
Despite the recent setbacks for the Red Devils, Matic says the Manchester club’s Norwegian manager should still be given the job on a permanent basis having led United to 14 wins in 19 games since taking over from Jose Mourinho who was sacked by the club back in December.
“I want Ole to stay. He is a great manager, very positive and the club will decide,” Matic said. “We will analyse this game to see where we made mistakes and see what we can do better. I am sure he will turn this situation around and we will do better,” the Serbian went on to say.
United will stew over their successive defeats during the international break before looking to bounce back to form when they host Watford in the league on March 30. The Watford game comes two weeks before the Red Devils come up against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
With the return leg coming at the Camp Nou a week later, United face a tough schedule in their quest to heed to Matic’s warning, as Solskjaer’s team would visit Everton days after the second leg against Barcelona before facing Manchester City and Chelsea in the space of four days.
