Jose Mourinho has defiantly claimed that Manchester United "deserve to finish second" in the Premier League in spite of what critics might think.
The title is expected to be won by cross-town rivals Manchester City, who sit 16 points clear at the top of the table.
As for United, they are two points clear of Liverpool in second place and have a game in hand.
Mourinho's men look certain to improve on last season's sixth-place finish but the manager believes that other sides are given more credit than his squad.
"Manchester City is not important for me," the Portuguese is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying.
"Important for me is that, since the moment we left the first position and went to second, we stayed there for the whole of the season. We deserve to finish second in spite of what you can say, the criticisms you can make.
"You all say the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth are all better than us, but they are not better than us because we have more points than them. We are going to fight. Seven matches to go, we are going to fight to finish second."
Man United return to action next Saturday with the big derby away at Man City.
Giuseppe Labellarte
