Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says the battle for a top-four finish is not over yet and he has warned his side they cannot afford any more slip-ups from now until the end of the season.
Second-placed United put in a lacklustre performance at Old Trafford last time out as they went down 1-0 to rock-bottom West Brom and that defeat has allowed teams below them to close the gap.
Liverpool, who have been drawn against Roma in the Champions League semi-finals, are just a point behind, Tottenham Hotspur are a further two adrift while Chelsea in fifth are 11 points behind the Red Devils.
United do have a game in hand on the Reds and Spurs but the 20-time English champions cannot afford any more mistakes as they could end up being caught.
Mourinho’s men are away at Bournemouth on Wednesday night and the visitors are 1.80 favourites to pick up the win, a draw is priced at 3.80 while the Cherries are 4.33.
The Portuguese boss has called for a response from his players for the clash at the Vitality Stadium to ensure the club are playing in Europe’s top competition next season.
“We lost three points,” Mourinho said. “We lost three points that could give us great stability for the second position.
“Now we still have the fourth position to fight for because Chelsea won (at Southampton on Saturday) and we lost, so we still have to fight for top four.”
Mourinho has confirmed he will make changes for the clash on the south coast, with Marcos Rojo, Scott McTominay and Phil Jones all in line for a recall while the fit-again Daley Blind is under consideration.
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