De Gea Believes Utd Can Salvage A Place In Europe

David De Gea insists Manchester United can still salvage a place in Europe from the wreckage of their season.

Although United’s 18-year run in the Champions League is surely over – with only five games to play, they are nine points behind fourth-placed Everton – they can still make the Europa League.

Sixth position will be enough for United to qualify for that competition, once Capital One Cup winners Manchester City confirm their top-four finish and relinquish the Europa League place their Wembley win over Sunderland would otherwise bring.

David Moyes’ Reds are just one position and three points behind sixth-placed Tottenham – with a game in hand and a far superior goal difference.

And De Gea says they want to win all of their remaining five games to make Europe.

The Spanish goalkeeper feels it is important United end their traumatic campaign on a high and prove they are not finished.

“There are still plenty of important games to play,” said De Gea. “We are Manchester United, and it’s our duty to win every game we take part in.

“That’s what we’ll try to do now because we want to finish as high as we can in the league, ensure we’re playing in a European competition next season, show we are still around and that we will never give in.”

De Gea claims United must not dwell on their Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich in their last match but instead focus on beating Everton at Goodison on Sunday.

“The Bayern defeat was tough for us to take,” he said. “We put in two really good performances and with a bit of luck, I think we could have got through.

“But it was always going to be a difficult task going to Munich and now we have to keep going.”

De Gea was speaking after receiving United’s Player of the Month award for March and despite the disappointments of the season admits his own form has been impressive.

“It’s been a good year and I put it down to the fact that you learn something from every match and training session.

“You gain experience from every day on the training field. Also I have played regularly, so it has been a constant learning curve. I hope next season can be even better than this one.”