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Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has backed the club to finish in the top four this season while praising the team’s new “mindset”, after a brilliant Benjamin Sesko volley secured a late draw against West Ham.
United conceded first in the second half and while the Red Devils toiled for large parts as the Hammers threatened to score on the counter, their efforts paid off in the end as Sesko volleyed in a superb equaliser in the 96th minute.
It was a point that kept their top-four charge on track after Chelsea’s draw to Leeds at Stamford Bridge, with United now two points behind third-placed Aston Villa, who face Brighton tomorrow.
And Butt was quick to highlight that he thinks his former club will be successful in their pursuit of the top four, with the ex-England midfielder also praising the “different mindset” that United showed.
“This was going to happen sooner or later. It’s good to go back up the road with a point, and Everton I think they’Il go on and win that. And I think they’ll finish fourth or third in the league, and that will be a really good end to the season for Michael [Carrick] and Man Utd,” said Butt.
“I think six weeks ago, Man Utd lose that game 2-0 or 3-0, but now they’re in a different mindset, they’re a different group of players, there’s a different management team, and that’s why they get a result. But six weeks ago, [I] guarantee they’d have lost that.
open image in gallery
Sesko’s superb late volley secured the draw after the visitors toiled for large parts (AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m convinced they would have lost that game, their heads would have gone down, they’d have given up a little bit, but now there’s a different mindset,” he added.
The draw means the Red Devils stay one point ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea with 12 games left to play in the league. Carrick’s side have been knocked out of the FA Cup so they will not play again until Monday 23 February, when they face Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.