Chris Smalling reckons that the club are in desperate need of a comfortable win

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling reckons that the club are in desperate need of a comfortable win to improve their confidence.

He also wishes that such a win should come in the upcoming Europa League match against Danish champions Midtjylland. The first leg of the last 32 tie between the two teams will take place away from Old Trafford. Since the crucial second leg is at home, United are overwhelming favourites to reach the last 16. United are likely to put more focus on winning the competition since it would mean another trophy and a straight path to the Champions League group stages irrespective of the league position that United find themselves at the end of the campaign.

At this moment, it looks like the club will not finish in the top four. The nearest club – Manchester City – are already six points ahead and they are unlikely to drop many points in the remainder of the games. United, who were leading the table near December, find themselves dropping down rapidly. The latest 2-1 loss against Sunderland only exposed the weaknesses in the team. Smalling has been in fine form on a personal level, but he has found it difficult to improve the club’s defensive record single-handedly.

The MCH Arena will host this European match and Smalling believes that United are ready for a strong performance."It's a massive week and ideally if we can do more than half the job in our first game then it will be a lot more comfortable come next Thursday in the second leg.We know they'll obviously be up for it as this is all they'll have had their vision on it for the last six or seven weeks, us being their next game, so we know we'll have to play well to be on top.Obviously when you play teams from different countries you don't see their players week in, week out or fully know the standard of their league,” said Smalling.