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Ander Herrera has stoked the fires in the desperate scramble for Champions League qualification by claiming that Manchester United look better equipped than rivals Manchester City to finish in the top four this season.
With Ashley Young and Phil Jones in line to make their first-team comebacks against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday after returning from long lay-offs to play for United’s Under-21s last night, Wayne Rooney progressing well and Luke Shaw bullish about his prospects of playing again this season, Herrera threw down the gauntlet to City.
United kept up the pressure on City with a 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday and trail their neighbours by a point but Herrera believes the psychological fillip of winning the recent Manchester derby coupled with the impending return of a glut of players could give them the edge.
“I think the last game [against City] showed that we are a little bit better than them right now,” the United midfielder said. “We beat them away in the Manchester derby so we can be optimistic.
“Man City have a bigger squad – very good players – but I think right now we can fight against them. We are recovering some important players like Ash, Antonio [Valencia], Phil Jones and Shaw.
“They are going to help us and there is a lot of experience. It’s not going to be easy because City also want to be in the Champions League but I think we are ready to do it [finish in the top four].”
With Valencia and Herrera himself recently returning from injury, the availability of England defender Jones and winger Young, both of whom played for the under-21s against Chelsea at Old Trafford last night (Monday), is an added boost for the United manager, Louis van Gaal.
Shaw, meanwhile, resumed first-team training yesterday and believes there is good chance of him playing a part in United’s final few games and forcing his way into contention for the European Championship in France this summer, despite Van Gaal’s claims on Friday that he is unlikely to play again this term.
United play Norwich City on May 7 and West Ham three days later, with Roy Hodgson naming his provisional squad for the Euros on May 12. United then face Bournemouth on the final day of the season.
Herrera is less concerned about the visit to Spurs than United’s remaining matches against lowlier opposition, such as Crystal Palace and Norwich, given their dismal record against teams in the bottom half of the table.
“When we play against a top team I am not so worried about our performance because we usually do quite well against top teams.
“The most difficult games for us or when I am a little bit more worried is when we’re not playing against top teams.”
