'Not acceptable to target anything less than top-3 finish,' claims Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a warning to his fellow team-mates, revealing that it is not acceptable for a team like the Red Devils to be aiming for anything less than a top-three finish in the Premier League.

United have not had the best of times in the league so far this season with the management replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Ralf Rangnick on interim basis in December following heavy defeats to Leicester City, Liverpool and Watford.

Rangnick for his part has steadied the ship to an extent, though United still find themselves placed seventh in the league table after 19 games, a staggering 22 points behind league leaders, Manchester City.

Ronaldo for his part has called for his fellow team-mates to show a winning mentality, warning that he does not want to be at Old Trafford to finish sixth or lower.

"I don't accept that our mentality be less than being in the top three in the Premier League. I think to build up good things, sometimes you have to destroy a few things. So why not - new year, new life and I hope that Manchester (United) can be the level that the fans want. They deserve that," he said as quoted by Sky Sports.

"We are capable of changing things now. I know the way but I'm not going to mention it here because I don't think it's ethical on my part to say that. What I can say is we can do better - all of us. Manchester (United) belongs to important things, so we have to change that.

"I don't want to be here to be in sixth place, or seventh place, or fifth place. I'm here to try to win, to compete," the superstar added.

Despite United's struggles on the pitch, the 36-year-old has been brilliant since his return, scoring 14 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions so far and the management will hope that he continues in the same vein, if they are to hope of winning a trophy come the end of the campaign.