Manchester United defender Phil Jones has insisted that he and his teammates are aware that they still have a way to go before they can challenge for the Premier League title.

The main objective in Louis van Gaal's first season in charge was to seal a Champions League spot, and they did just that by finishing fourth in the table.

United finished 17 points behind champions Chelsea, and Jones believes that improvements need to be made if they are to close that gap next season.

"We are not kidding ourselves, it is a steady progression," the Daily Star quotes Jones as saying. "We are not absolutely ecstatic about finishing in fourth - that is not the case at all.

"We are satisfied at finishing fourth and the aim was to finish in that position at least at the start of the season. We have done what we needed to do in a way but we need to improve upon that next season."

United recorded 20 wins out of 38 league games this season.