Bruno Fernandes calls on Manchester United to knuckle down more in pursuit of Champions League spot

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United need to knuckle down, rack up wins and improve in possession as they attempt to sneak into the Champions League spots.

This has been a season to forget for Erik ten Hag's side, who put back-to-back Premier League defeats behind them by edging past relegation-threatened Everton 2-0 on Saturday lunchtime.

First half penalties from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford decided the contest at Old Trafford, with the former calling on United to ignore background noise and focus on themselves during the run-in.
Put to the Red Devils skipper that it feels like every match feels like a big game right now, he told MUTV: "It is actually.

"Obviously we know that this season is not being (as) good as we want, so we want to improve as much as we can until the end of the season.

"Improve obviously position-wise because we want to try to get as close as possible to the Champions League spots. We know that we don't depend only on ourselves, but we have to do our job like we did today and win our games."

United remain sixth after beating Everton and sit eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who host Tottenham - the team between them - on Sunday.

Fifth could yet prove enough for Champions League qualification but the Red Devils will be relying on other teams to improve England's UEFA coefficient.

United have 10 Premier League matches remaining and now turn their attention to keeping alive their hopes of ending a season to forget with silverware.

Ten Hag's men host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals next weekend, when a repeat of the kind of sloppiness seen against Everton, particularly in the first half, could lead to an ugly outcome. "No one gives the ball away on purpose," Fernandes told Stadium Astro.