LONDON • Jesse Lingard believes his good-natured competition with teammate Marcus Rashford, including goal and assist targets for each player, has helped bring the best out of them and drive Manchester United's bid to climb into the Premier League's top four.

Lingard and Rashford were reported to have feared their careers could stall due to Jose Mourinho's volatile temperament.

But, freed from their previous manager's shackles since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as interim boss, the England internationals have been in fine form.

With nine goals between them since the Norwegian arrived, the good friends have given United's attack a more menacing look in recent weeks.

Rashford got the first goal of the Solskjaer reign, against Cardiff, and Lingard struck twice in that 5-1 rout.

Having netted the winner in United's 1-0 victory at Leicester last weekend, Rashford has now scored in six of his side's eight league games under Solskjaer.

"Marcus and me have been setting targets for each other to challenge ourselves," Lingard said. "Obviously it's different aims, maybe in certain games it's how many shots, or this many touches in a game.

"It's just different random things, just to make you think and it's to kind of push each other because you want your friend to be successful as well. I'm not going to go into the amount of numbers involved because then everyone will know."

Solskjaer has earned praise for inspiring his side's 10-match unbeaten run since replacing the sacked Mourinho in December.

With seven victories in eight league games, fifth-placed United have surged back into the race to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish.

United sit just two points behind Chelsea and can end this weekend in fourth place if they beat struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage today and Maurizio Sarri's team lose at Manchester City tomorrow.

The Red Devils also host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday and face Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round later this month.

If Solskjaer can lead United to silverware and finish in the top four, it might be hard for the Glazer family and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to ignore his credentials for the manager's post on a permanent basis.

Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri feels the former United striker has already proved he deserves the job.

"At the moment, he deserves it. He's shown all the players are with him. Manchester United's mentality has changed. Why not?" said Ranieri, whose side are second bottom after one win in their past five league games.

Another player who has flourished under Solskjaer's watch is Phil Jones. United rewarded the defender with a new deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2023.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

FULHAM V MAN UNITED

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