Reds Resolve To Keep Run Going

The teams in third and fourth place meet at Old Trafford on Sunday as Manchester United host Southampton and look to maintain an impressive unbeaten run which started on 8 November and has now stretched to 11 matches - including 10 in the Barclays Premier League.

January has traditionally been a month in which the Reds have kicked on in the quest for silverware - in the club's last two trophy-winning seasons, United opened the new year with six wins and a draw (2010/11) and then four victories and two draws (2012/13).

Despite Chelsea and Manchester City seemingly set to make title glory difficult to achieve this term, Louis van Gaal's men are still in a good position just behind the top two and with a firm grasp on a Champions League place, the players are determined to keep the positive sequence going.

Chris Smalling told us: "Going into the New Year on the back of a good run means that it’s a case of working even harder to climb the table and get as many points as we can.

"We need to do as much as possible on the pitch and, as an individual, do as much as we can in terms of recovery and extra work."

Determination, team spirit, goal-scoring prowess and sheer graft have been just some of the qualities on show during the rise to third place and more of the same will be needed between now and May as the Reds compete on two fronts, in the league and FA Cup.

“I think the key is to keep to the principles that the manager has set, because the run shows that we’ve got a bit of consistency," added Smalling.

"I think we've really shown our team spirit in games where we’ve had to dig in or come from behind. It shows how well we all get on. We’re all happy no matter what position we’re in and we work for each other.

"If we can prolong our consistency and continue our hard work in training, things will click and we’ll creep up the league.”