Manchester United sit just two points outside of the Champions League places after their recent resurgence in the league seems to have dipped a bit.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has turned things round at Old Trafford, and he deserves tremendous credit for getting the club back to winning ways following a miserable spell under Jose Mourinho.

With the top four in sight then, we at the Tavern feel that there has to be a few things on the mind of Solskjaer as he prepares to get his team ready to mount a charge at securing a top four spot, and there will no doubt be a host of things the Norwegian needs to do.

That got us thinking here in the Tavern in a bit more detail, and with that thought in mind, we looked at TWO crucial things that Solskjaer must do in the coming weeks to ensure Man United finish in the top four...

Balance the Champions League with the Premier League

United's progression past PSG in the last round of the Champions League ensures that the Red Devils remain in with a big shout of winning Europe's premier competition.

However, this could well be to the detriment of their league form, with the games coming thick and fast at this crucial stage of the campaign.

Soskjaer will need to ensure he gets the balance just right to make sure United keep progressing.

Keeping his squad motivated

In such a talented group of players, there is never going to be room for everyone to get regular minutes, and this is a crucial thing for Solskjaer to keep on top of.

The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard are top talents, but don't always get the minutes they might want, while big names such as Alexis Sanchez are struggling to be selected at all.

The United boss will need to ensure all his squad remain bought into his ethos in what is the crucial phase of the season.