Scott McTominay has backed up Cristiano Ronaldo’s statement that Manchester United have to finish in the Premier League’s top three and win trophies to be able to reflect on a successful season.
United are currently fifth in the Premier League after their 1-1 draw against bottom side Burnley on Tuesday night allowed West Ham to leapfrog them in the table.
Paul Pogba gave Ralf Rangnick’s side the lead with a well-taken finish in the 18th minute, but, after the visitors had two goals disallowed, Burnley hit back.
Jay Rodriguez latched onto Wout Weghorst’s pass to dink David de Gea and take two valuable points off United, who were further damaged by West Ham’s 1-0 win over Watford.
The draw compounded a bad few days for United, who exited the FA Cup in the fourth round on Friday after being beaten on penalties by Middlesbrough at Old Trafford.
Although they remain in the Champions League, the team’s current form under Rangnick is not befitting a side which McTominay believes should be winning trophies every season, as well as finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
"No, for me, no," he told BT Sport before the game, when asked if finishing in the top four was enough this season, without winning silverware.
"That’s the situation we find ourselves in. It's been a difficult situation this year. You have to take the rough with the smooth sometimes and get on with it and keep pushing every single game.
"To answer your question, no definitely not. It’s true, the lads always speak about it, we’ve got to keep going to change that."
United have not won the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, although they have won the FA Cup (2015/16), Carabao Cup (2016/17) and Europa League (2016/17) in recent seasons.
Those trophies are not nearly enough for Ronaldo, who rejoined the club from Juventus in the summer to try and turn around the club’s fortunes.
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He ruffled some feathers amongst his teammates by giving a blunt interview last month in which he laid down the law on what his expectations are.
"Impossible, I think it's the main point," he told Sky Sports in January when asked if the team could be successful with their current mentality.
"I don't accept that our mentality be less than being in the top three in the Premier League.
"I think to build up good things, sometimes you have to destroy a few things. So why not - new year, new life and I hope that Manchester (United) can be the level that the fans want. They deserve that.”
He added: "I don't want to be here to be in sixth place, or seventh place, or fifth place. I'm here to try to win, to compete.
"I think we compete but we are not yet in our best level. But we have a long way to improve and I believe if we change our mind, we can achieve big things."
