With the schedule you’ve had to go through this season and the injuries you’re picking up now, do you think there will come a point in the season when you have to prioritise the Premier League over this competition?
“I think we can manage. We have players that can recover good between games. So we do that very carefully, and have contact with medical [staff], with performance [staff] on what a player can handle. Also we have a lot of positions where we have double [players] so we can mix it, so when we are going to the final stage of the season, we can bring our best team.”
You’ve been here two thirds of the season at Manchester United and you’ve experienced the Premier League. How short do you think the team is of challenging for the title?
“I think we have made good progress. Also, we have to acknowledge there is still a gap. I couldn’t expect that we close that gap that quickly. What we want is we want to win every game, no matter which opponent. I think in all of the games you have seen till now, I think that was our approach. We tried to win every game. Also we have beaten all the top teams so we are capable to do it. So now we have to make the next step to do that more dominant, more consistent. So we have some steps to take. But we know, there is time, we can do it.”
Can you tell Manchester United fans that with another transfer window in the summer that next season, this is a club that will be challenging for the title?
“You see the competition. I also heard comments from other players and other managers in the Premier League. The Premier League was never as difficult as now, there are so many competitors. It is not a two-horse race. It’s five, six, seven-horse races so you have to be very good if you want to win that league. But we are aiming for that. What we want, so do six, seven more clubs. And they will invest and they will spend big money. And they have great managers, so they have great players. So it’s a lot about details in the end, you can win it. But as I said, we have beaten all the teams in the Premier League so we are capable to do it but we are aware of it at the club and also in the team. We are aware of it, we have some…
..
