David de Gea says Manchester United are relishing Tuesday's Champions League showdown with Barcelona – but must improve to have any chance of going through.
United scraped a 2-1 win at home to West Ham to maintain their push for a top-four place, but goalkeeper De Gea conceded they will have to raise their level in the Nou Camp.
De Gea conceded United may have been suffering a physical and mental hangover from their 1-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat to Barca, but said they must learn to cope with that if they want to succeed at the highest level.
“Of course it's difficult, but if you want to be a top team you have to play big Champions League games, and the weekend after it's the Premier League,” said De Gea.
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“So you have to be focused and ready for a difficult game again. I think today we didn't play well, we have to improve a lot and now we have a big challenge on Tuesday.
“We will try to fight and win the game. We can go with more confidence after the three points.
“It's a big challenge, a special occasion, in Spain, against Barcelona, a Champions League night, so it's going to be an amazing game.
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“We're happy with the win, but at the same time we have to improve a lot.”
On United's bid for a top-four place, De Gea said: “It's nothing to the end now, just five games, a difficult schedule, difficult games.
“We need to be really focused, give 100 per cent every game and try to win all of them.”
