Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sets points target for a top-three finish

United sit sixth in the league table and welcome West Ham to Old Trafford on Saturday

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United need to pick up 15 points from their final six games in order to secure a top-three Premier League finish.

United sit sixth in the league table and welcome West Ham to Old Trafford on Saturday, in what will be considered a must-win game if they are to meet Solskjaer’s target.

Manchester City and Chelsea will also visit Old Trafford before the end of this month, while United face a testing trip to Goodison Park to play Everton on 21 April.

Solskjaer’s side have lost four of their last five in all competitions but the Norwegian remains confident of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

“We need as many points as possible,” Solskjaer said. “I think if we get 15 we’ll be top three.

“In those games hopefully we’ll beat Chelsea but now it’s about West Ham. We are focusing on a good performance to give us three points.

“We want top three. Top four is also an aim if we don’t get 15, but we should aim for 15 points.”

Solskjaer admitted that United’s recent run of poor form has been challenging and called on his players to begin to believe themselves again.

“It’s been a period where we’ve played some good teams, had some good performances but haven’t had the quality and belief in front of goal we should have.

“Against Wolves and Arsenal, the two league games, we should have won with the amount of chances.

Solskjaer said: “We’ve been practising. As a striker I know how important that little belief is so we’ve been putting balls in goals.

“Sometimes you just don’t have that little feel, confidence, so you have to do it in training and hope it comes out again because we have been fantastic but not ruthless or clinical in front of goal.”