Former Manchester United club record signing, Juan Mata, says that the club should finish in the top four at all costs this campaign.
The Spaniard was speaking after the club suffered a major setback in their efforts to put some distance between them and the chasing pack of Southampton, Arsenal, and Liverpool. United could have done so with a win against Swansea last weekend. However, it was not the case after the Red Devils suffered yet another 2-1 defeat against Gary Monk’s team. Mata did not start the match, but he was brought into the match during the last 11 minutes as United chased an equaliser.
The 26-year-old is not a regular first choice at United, which is surprising considering that he cost £ 37 million from Chelsea just over a year ago. Mata complained a lot about the lack of regular first-team football at Chelsea, but he has been less troublesome at Old Trafford. The former Valencia star has completed the full 90 minutes of action only three times since the start of the year. He did not have much of an impact against Swansea and this is unlikely to see him return to the starting line-up against Sunderland next week. However, Mata wants to be a team player right now and he has spoken about the importance of Champions League for the club.
“There are still a lot of games to go. We are in a race to win the FA Cup so we will try to win it because it’s been a long time since the club won it and it’s something very important for us.Obviously it’s crucial for us to get into the top four at the end of the Premier League season.Right now, we are facing a crucial moment in the Premier League. Obviously the last 10 games are very important and we also have the FA Cup tie against Arsenal,” said Mata.