Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has told his teammates that they must all up their game or the club will be in serious danger of missing Champions League football for another season.
Currently United face a tough battle for the remaining two Champions league places with Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and Southampton all battling for a place in Europe’s top competition assuming that Chelsea and Manchester City have already locked up first and second place.
Manager Louis van Gaal said that returning to the Champions League was his number one priority this season, and with the Red Devils currently in fourth place with the pack chasing the pressure will be on to get a win against struggling Burnley Wednesday night.
Mata insists that they cannot afford to drop points saying: “We play at home against Burnley and we must win because the race for the Champions League spots is now very close.
“We have to get the three points at home, we know that, and that’s what we are working for. I’m sure we will make it with our people’s help.
“We will keep fighting to get better and try to win every game.”
Speaking about their late equalizer with West Ham the Spanish midfielder added: “In the end, we are disappointed in the dressing room that we didn’t take all three points. But West Ham pressed us well and I think a draw was a fair result.
“Ultimately, we are disappointed. We needed to win and it was a big game for us.
“We have not lost, which is a plus, but we could have gained some ground. It was not to be.
“We have got another big game on Wednesday night now and we need to win that one as well.
“The manager said in the dressing room after the game that he couldn’t fault our spirit.
“If we had shown that more in the first half then we might have come away with a victory.
“But we need to address and evaluate this game. Then we will move on to the Burnley game.”
