Louis van Gaal has told his Manchester United players reaching the top four will be difficult this season after the Red Devils were beaten 2-1 at Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.
The defeat leaves United six points behind fourth, having played a game more, and Van Gaal has let his players know they have squandered too many points recently in the race to qualify for next years's UEFA Champions League, per Simon Stone of BBC Sport:
LVG: "Top four will be very difficult now. We have given five points away.