Manchester United should have been competing for higher than fourth place this season, says Ashley Young

United started the current campaign as one of the favourites to lift the title

Young and Co are continuing to chase a top-four finish (Getty)

Ashley Young has admitted that he expected Manchester United to be doing better than competing for fourth place this season.

United started the current campaign as one of the favourites to lift the title, with Jose Mourinho’s arrival, alongside the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, expected to turn the club's fortunes around.

But the side have struggled to live up to the hype and currently face a fight to secure a top-finish finish, and the reward of Champions League football that comes with it.

Despite remaining unbeaten in their last 25 games, United have stagnated in recent months and Young, who has flittered in and out of Mourinho’s starting XI this season, has expressed his dissatisfaction.

“After ten draws at home, you think about the points that we’ve lost and thrown away and where we could have been in the league,” Young told MUTV following the 1-1 result against Swansea at Old Trafford on Sunday.

“When you go one goal ahead you always want to get the second. We did try but it just wouldn’t come. I think on another day it could have been two or three. It wasn’t to come and we just have to prepare now for the other games.

“A lot of people have been talking about fourth spot in the league but I thought we could go even higher than that. We’ve got a game in hand and a lot of tough games but as long as we’re prepared I’m sure we can go and get the points that we need.”

United were held by Swansea at the weekend in what was their tenth home draw of the season.

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s sublime free-kick, coming late in the game, secured the visitors a precious point but further dented United’s hopes of finishing in the top four.


 Mourinho's men face a fight to secure a top-four finish 
 (Getty)

Mourinho’s men still have the chance to secure Champions League football through the Europa League, however.

Celta Vigo currently stand between the side and a place in the final, and Young remains confident qualification can be secured despite mounting injury problems.

“It wasn’t [the result] we wanted against Swansea, but we’ve still got games and points to play for [in the Premier League] and the Europa League as well coming up.”