Bruno Fernandes admits he has been frustrated by the shortage of games this season, so he is desperate to help propel Manchester United back into the UEFA Champions League.
Our brilliant captain famously loves playing football and bounced back from a rare three-game injury lay-off around Christmas to produce some outstanding stats of late.
A goal and assist in the 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace further strengthens his claims to be named the Reds' Player of the Year again, come May, and the skipper spoke to MUTV afterwards about the importance of securing a spot in a competition in 2026/27 that he describes as the best in the world.
It is clear he has missed competing at that level and is doing all he can to help us qualify.
“It has to be huge because, you know, like we struggle a lot this season by playing just one game a week,”
he said. “At least, I did!
”And I'm pretty sure also players that have played less because we have less games. It's more difficult to rotate. I think everyone needs the chance to play but, when you have a game [only] every week, it's more difficult for a manager to make a lot of changes and give a lot of opportunities.
“When you play in Europe, with the amount of games you have to play, it gets important also for the squad to understand everyone is very important, on any moment of the season. It still is but, with more games, you have more chances to play.
”And, mainly, to be in the best competition in the world, that is the Champions League, and try to go for a competition that the club has a huge history in.“
United moved above Aston Villa, into third in the table on goal difference, with a rare midweek slate of league fixtures providing another examination.
The Reds are at Newcastle United on Wednesday, while Villa are at home to sixth-placed Chelsea, who are now six points adrift of Michael Carrick's men, following a 2-1 loss in the London derby with Arsenal.
The top four will qualify for next term's Champions League but fifth may be enough if England maintains its strength in the coefficent rankings.
“We are going through a very good spell,”
added Fernandes. “A positive spell. We knew we were capable of this. It's not from there [Carrick taking over], it's from Newcastle on Boxing Day, a while ago.
”We need to be able to play better football, for us, it's a sign we want to improve. The resilience of defending and getting the end result is sometimes very important for the team to understand. The spirit is very high and it will be massive in the next game against Newcastle.“