Ole Gunnar Solskjaer outlines targets for next season after woeful finish

Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League after the woeful 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City. Red Devils are 32 points behind Premier League champions Manchester City. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted United have ‘hit a brick wall’ in recent weeks. He said: “We have been poor. We’ve more or less hit a brick wall towards the end of the season so that’s very disappointing. We were in with a shout (of the top four) but the last two games, of course, we’ve let ourselves down performance-wise. We should have won against two relegated teams (United drew 1-1 at Huddersfield last week) but that’s another reality check for everyone. This league is a tough one, no matter who you play, and it’s a long season and towards the end we’ve performed under par. The big plus is the season’s over so we put a big line over it and look forward. We know we are too far behind where we want to be, that’s the 98 and 97 points – that’s exceptional from the two teams (City and Liverpool). “We are five or six points behind third, fourth and fifth, that’s realistically who we need to challenge for next year. The players have been going through a tough period, good players who towards the end of the season are fatigued mentally and physically.” He added: “We’re used to challenging for the Premier League and that’s not going to be sorted quickly. Realistically you’re not going to catch however many points – we’re 32 points behind the top teams. We’ve got to realistically challenge for the top four and another trophy. Last time we were in the Europa League with Jose (Mourinho) and loads of these players, we won it. The FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, they’re trophies we’ve got to start the season aiming to win.”

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