Louis van Gaal: Beat Manchester City and Manchester United are Premier League title contenders

The crucial Manchester derby takes place next Sunday

Louis van Gaal looks on from the side of the pitch (Getty Images)

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes that his side will deserve to be classed as Premier League title contenders if they defeat local rivals Manchester City in their crunch Manchester derby next Sunday.

United defeated Everton 3-0 on Saturday, and currently sit in third place in the table, two points behind leaders City. Van Gaal said he was very pleased at the way his United side recovered after losing 3-0 to Arsenal in their previous game.

"I am very happy with the response of my players and I am very proud of the performance," the United manager said.

"I think it was an excellent performance and maybe it is the start of many, many victories.

"We have to be more consistent, so next week when we win against Manchester City then we can say, 'OK, now we think maybe about title aspirations'."

United last won the Premier League title in 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson. In the seasons since, they have finished seventh in 2013/14 and fourth last term.