Assistant manager Steve Holland wants the club to finish as close as possible to the top
Manchester United are targeting more than just a return to the Champions League as they approach the final stretch of the season, according to assistant manager Steve Holland.
United have climbed to third place since Michael Carrick took charge in mid-January, putting themselves in a strong position to qualify for Europe’s top competition after missing out last season. With seven matches remaining, they hold a seven-point advantage over sixth-placed Chelsea.
Holland arrived in January alongside Carrick after the latter was appointed interim manager.
“I think the language we should be using as this club is to finish as close as we possibly can to the top,” Holland said. “I don’t know how possible that is, but that has to be the challenge always: to get as close as we possibly can to the top.
“We’ve been speaking more to the players really about winning our matches, rather than thinking too much about what’s happening below.
“But clearly given the context, to finish in the Champions League places would be a good situation for us, but I think always we should be looking for more than that.”
United’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot have also been strengthened by Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Sporting in their quarter-final first leg, confirming the Premier League will have at least five teams in next season’s competition.
The squad have spent the week at a training camp outside Dublin, making use of their extended break between fixtures. Their last match, a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on 20 March, is followed by the meeting with Leeds United at Old Trafford on 13 April, a 24-day gap caused by the international break and their early exit from cup competitions.
“Our last game, Bournemouth to Leeds, is a Premier League record I think, in terms of time between games,” Holland said.
“So the gap has been as big as you can have really. I think we felt it was important to get the whole group together again, and really focus on finishing the season well. I think this was the perfect venue for that, really.”
