Rashford says United 'capable of winning big trophies' and wants title challenge

Marcus Rashford is convinced Manchester United are within touching distance of being title contenders.

The Red Devils last tasted Premier League title glory in 2013 - Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season at the helm - and they have not come close to challenging since.

Although they are already out of the Champions League, the Red Devils have been showing promising signs under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

They are eight points adrift of pace-setters Liverpool, but have two games in hand in what is shaping up to be a tight battle.

Rashford feels the team that goes on a sustained winning run in the second half of the season will emerge victorious, and the England striker believes United are well capable of doing that - a view shared by Wes Brown.

“I believe that the team that we have now is capable of winning big trophies,” Rashford told the United Podcast.

“We are not quite there but I feel like we are close. We just need to make that final push to be a team that can win trophies and fight for everything.

“The league's wide open. Four games ago, everybody was saying 'United are finished.' But then we won three games on the spin.”

Rashford feels there is always noise surrounding United, due to their status as “the biggest club in the world.”

The forward has called on the players to block things out and take the title battle by the scruff of the neck.

“We have to find a way to block everything out and just concentrate on what matters, which is taking it one game at a time and picking up points,” Rashford said.

“We have to go back to spells where it's worked, where we've won 10 or 11 games, and just do it again. Because I believe this year, the team that does that is the team that's going to go on and win the league.

"We have to show that we're ready to step up and be that team that's going to be fighting for the title.

“We're so close to being the team that we all want to be. But it doesn't matter if you're that close or a million miles away, if you're not there, you're not there. We need to show that we are there and the only way to do that is to do it on the pitch."

The Red Devils face a big six days, as they host Leeds United on Sunday before trips to Everton and Leicester City either side of Christmas Day.