Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United may emerge from the festive period as genuine contenders to win the Premier League title.
After finishing seventh in the standings last season, the Reds don’t have European football to contend with this time round, and their early elimination from the League Cup has further eased their fixture congestion. Added to this a heavy spending spree during the summer window, and Louis van Gaal and his players can focus all their energy on winning a 21st league crown.
This seemed hugely unlikely earlier in the season when they suffered defeats to Swansea City, Leicester City and Manchester City, but seven wins from their last eight outings has seen them lifted to third place. And speaking after the comprehensive 3-0 win against Newcastle United on Boxing Day, two-goal hero Rooney revealed that he and his pals have set their sights on the title.
“There is still a long way to go, we know that,” said the England international captain. “We have chased leads down before and we’ve lost leads ourselves before, and by a big number of points. So anything can still happen, especially in the next week or two, there are a lot of games, and if we can come out of these games with the right results then we’ll be in a good position.”
Although it is clear that United have improved since the ill-fated David Moyes era, it is still a big ask for them to regain the title from their neighbours who are seven points clear and, something which has perhaps been overlooked, they too are on a fine run have won their last seven league games. And of course Chelsea are a further three points ahead, and look stronger than they have in years.
Van Gaal’s side face a stern test on Sunday afternoon when they travel to the capital to face Tottenham Hotspur, who will consider anything but a top-four finish as a disappointment this season. Mauricio Pochettino’s team won at Leicester City on Boxing Day, and they are currently in seventh position in the table and could close the gap to two points on United with victory at White Hart Lane.
Should United be considered as genuine title contenders, or is that too big an ask this season? Let us know what you think by joining the discussion below.
