Jose Mourinho has been forced to climb down from his prediction Manchester United would end the year in the top four.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game against Arsenal, the Man Utd manager admits his target of moving into the Champions League places may now be beyond his side before 2019.
But Mourinho is adamant it will not take a miracle to secure a top four finish, despite his comments during an interview with Brazilian TV over the weekend.
Following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Southampton, the under pressure 55-year-old told RedeTV the target was to “Try to win as many points as possible and try (to achieve) almost the miracle of finishing fourth.”
But on Tuesday, he backtracked, despite admitting he’d been forced to realign his targets.
“If I used that word, it is not a word I feel at all,” said Mourinho. “I think we have like eight points from fourth. I don’t think we need miracle at all. We need a good run of results and don’t waste points where we shouldn’t.”
Back-to-back draws against Crystal Palace and Southampton have left United languishing in seventh and 16 points adrift of leaders Manchester City.
Mourinho had been convinced his side would force their way into the top four over the Christmas period.
But his change of stance will be a concern to United supporters and the club’s hierarchy who believed encouraging performances against Chelsea, Juventus and Bournemouth last month signalled a turning point in a crisis-ridden season.
Mourinho added: “Before the Crystal Palace game I said my hopes and targets were for at the end of December to be in that position. The target has changed, but in the sense of let’s try to close the distance the best we can and be very close to these positions.
“I think it is far from a miracle. We just need to not be so unlucky with the problems that we have. We need some players to perform better than they are. We need to perform better as a team, but it’s far from a miracle.”
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Man City | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 38 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 36 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 31 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 30 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 30 |
| 6 | Everton | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 22 |
| 7 | Man United | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | -1 | 22 |
Mourinho admits seventh place is unacceptable for United – but insists they will climb up the table.
He said: “In spite of the investment Everton made, which was phenomenal, and obviously there was a great improvement in that team from last season. But I don’t think Everton will be in front of Manchester United at the end of the season.
“There are six teams that should stay in the first six positions, season after season. Two of these teams are staying outside the top four.
“Last season was Arsenal and Chelsea. And this season two of these six are going to stay outside.
“At the end of the season the top six will be done by the six teams we all know have that responsibility to finish in the top six.”
