Louis van Gaal believes that Manchester United have been the "best team" in the Premier League over the past 20 matches of the season.
The Red Devils endured a slow start to the campaign as they suffered defeats to Swansea City and Leicester City, but have gradually rounded into form and have now lost just once in their last 15 matches.
Van Gaal feels that his side are now the dominant team in the top flight, despite trailing Chelsea in the race for the title by 12 points with just 13 games left in the season.
He told reporters: "As you know, when you see the score of the last 19 or 20 matches we are the best team in the league. Now I believe that every player knows the philosophy of me and my staff. Everyone wants to follow that philosophy and you can see that in the team spirit of the team which is unbelievable.
"Mostly I have told them after the matches that we can play better, but I have also said it was already 70 minutes good, this match, or 45 or 60, but we have to do it 90 minutes. I don't believe we have been able to do it for 90 minutes, so I think we have a long way to go. You don't have to exaggerate that we are playing well.
"But, very important is that we continue to win and that we don't lose so much anymore and that the results are more stable. You never know [how far away you are from being the best team], but it is the right question because I want to improve the performance."
United take on Swansea at the Liberty Stadium later today.
Simon Sinclair
