Manchester United assistant manager Steve Holland has insisted the club have their eyes on more than just Champions League qualification going into the final few weeks of the season.
United have climbed up to third place since Michael Carrick took charge in mid-January, and with seven matches left they are on course for a return to the continent's top club competition after a year out of Europe.
"I think the language we should be using as this club is to finish as close as we possibly can to the top," Holland said on the club's website. "I don't know how possible that is, but that has to be the challenge always: to get as close as we possibly can to the top.
"We've been speaking more to the players really about winning our matches, rather than thinking too much about what's happening below.
"But clearly given the context, to finish in the Champions League places would be a good situation for us, but I think always we should be looking for more than that."
United have been revitalised under Michael Carrick and have lost only once since he took over the team.
United's Champions League ambitions have been boosted by Arsenal's 1-0 win over Sporting in their quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night, which means the Premier League is assured of at least five clubs in the Champions League next season having secured UEFA's European Performance Spot.
Going into the weekend, United are seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea.
United have spent this week on a training camp outside Dublin, taking advantage of a 24-day break between their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on March 20 and Monday night's match against Leeds United at Old Trafford.
The long wait between games is a result both of the international window and United's early exit from the cup competitions.
"Our last game, Bournemouth to Leeds, is a Premier League record I think, in terms of time between games," Holland added.
"So the gap has been as big as you can have really. I think we felt it was important to get the whole group together again, and really focus on finishing the season well. I think this was the perfect venue for that, really."
