Manchester United '2 players' short of becoming title challengers says Wayne Rooney

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes the Red Devils will be ready to challenge for the Premier League title next season after finishing fourth this campaign.

Manager Louis van Gaal made true on his early season promise of returning the Old Trafford club back to the Champions League after they missed out in 2014 when they finished in seventh place.

The 20-time English champions were in a battle with Arsenal to finish third and get direct entry into the group stages of the elite European competition. However, a draw at home against the Gunners and the 0-0 result on the final day against Hull City left them in fourth place, which means they must get past a two-legged qualifying round to join the group stages.

After a slow start to the Premier League season, the Dutchman took his team on a 10-game unbeaten run that saw them surge up the table, and the United skipper feels a couple of additions in the summer will get put them on their way to becoming title challengers in the upcoming season.

"I believe we are [close]," Rooney told Sky Sports. "You take the first 10, 11 games and I think we had 13 points. When you consider from after that amount of games to where we've finished, we've probably got as many points after that as anyone else.

"I think we're close, there's no doubt about it. You can see in our performances, we're outplaying teams, dominating possession, and it's just that final thing of taking our chances.

"In the Chelsea game, if I had scored that with my left foot then it could have been a completely different game and might have put them under a bit of pressure – it might have been a lot closer than it's finished.

"As a group of players, myself and the manager – we all believe we're close and I'm sure with a player or two in the summer we'll have a good chance of going for the title."