Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has stressed the importance of beating Aston Villa this weekend, claiming that the recent victory over Liverpool will 'mean nothing' should they fail to pick up three points once more.

The Red Devils prevailed 2-1 at Anfield a fortnight ago to end their arch-rivals' impressive unbeaten run, while also opening up a five-point gap in the race for a Champions League spot.

Despite the potentially decisive victory last time out in terms of their European hopes for next season, Rooney has warned that there is still a long way to go before anything is decided.

"It means nothing if we don't beat Aston Villa on Saturday," the Englishman is quoted as saying by ESPN. "Obviously Arsenal play Liverpool as well on Saturday, so if we can get the win against Villa that will be an even better result than Liverpool was for us.

"There are still eight games left. We are in a good position at the minute so it's in our own hands, so have to make sure we do it."

United are currently on a four-game winning run in the Premier League since losing 2-1 at Swansea City in February.