Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says it's too early to talk about top four
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Friday 13 December 2019 17:19, UK
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says it is too early to talk about a top-four finish, despite Manchester United being just five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
United endured their worst start to a league season for 31 years but recent wins over Tottenham and Manchester City have lifted them to fifth in the table and put them within reach of the Champions League places.
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However, Solskjaer insists his side cannot get ahead of themselves and stressed the importance of continuing to build confidence.
"I don't think about it in December, not at all," the United boss said. "There's too many games in December, January, February, March, April.
"We just need to keep doing what we're doing and keep developing this team, keep sticking to what we believe in and improving every day - then I believe the results will come.
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"Last week [against Man City] was good but it's history now. The group is going in the right direction."
Victory over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League was United's third in a row in all competitions, just the third time they have done that since Solskjaer was appointed.
They return to league action on Sunday at home to Everton, live on Sky Sports, and Solskjaer insists it signals the start of an important spell for his side.
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"Of course it's a vital period for us," he said. "We want to get points in home games and I know Everton have had a big upturn with Big Dunc (Duncan Ferguson) coming in last week.
"I watched the game against Chelsea and it is a team that's going to come here and make it hard for us. We're too far behind at the moment so we need to keep this momentum going.
"We lost quite clearly against Everton last year. I think we've spoke enough about what happened that day and how it was more or less a shambles, but I've said too many times this year we are not going to be that group anymore.
"This is a different group, this is a group that is ready for the fight and is ready for the football."
Notebook: Man Utd's 4000-game landmark
Sunday's match against Everton will see United celebrate 4000 consecutive games with an academy player in their match-day squad.
It was a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage in October 1937 that set the ball rolling for United's youngsters, and the current boss is keen to continue the club's 82-year-old tradition.
"It's something we're proud of and it's in our DNA," Solskjaer said. "This club is built on having your own local lads and academy players coming through and we pride ourselves on that.
"The academy players know what it means and they're great people. They're good players as well and they know what it takes to be a Manchester United player."
Here, Sky Sports News' James Cooper examines the history behind United's amazing statistic.
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