Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has insisted that qualifying for the Champions League is the minimum requirement for the club, as the team looks to mount a future title challenge under interim manager Michael Carrick.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Fernandes said: "We have to be the main character every time... you play for a big club... we want to be in the top four all of the time, that has to be compulsory." The Portuguese midfielder has been instrumental in United's recent resurgence, recording 12 assists in 14 matches under Carrick.
United currently sit third in the Premier League after a run of 10 wins in 14 games under Carrick, who has also reintegrated academy product Kobbie Mainoo into the starting lineup. Mainoo scored the decisive goal in Sunday's win over Liverpool, prompting praise from former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.
Lineker expressed bewilderment that Mainoo had not made a single league start under previous manager Ruben Amorim during the first half of the season. "I am absolutely bewildered by the fact that he didn't get a look-in under the previous incumbent," Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast.
