Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows Manchester United have to get back to winning ways in the Premier League at West Bromwich Albion and kick on heading into a crucial stage of the season.
An impressive festive period saw the Red Devils enter the halfway point of a season top of the standings for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as champion in 2012/13.
United were top until City thrashed West Brom on January 26, with Solskjaer's men wasting the chance to return to the summit when falling to a shock 2-1 home loss to rock-bottom Sheffield United the following night.
Pep Guardiola's men have kept their foot down since then and now sit five points clear with a game in hand after second-placed United drew with Arsenal and Everton either side of the 9-0 annihilation of nine-man Southampton.
Tuesday's 1-0 extra-time win against West Ham in the FA Cup fifth round provided a welcome shot in the arm but Solskjaer knows they cannot afford any slip ups against Sam Allardyce's Baggies on Sunday.
"Of course it's an important game for us this weekend," the United manager, who saw Leicester City jump into second place on Saturday after their 3-1 win over Liverpool, said.
"It's an important spell. It's time now that every game you tick one off and there's less and less possibility to catch up on points on the teams in front of you.
"That's what we want to do. That's what we're here to do. Sunday's a big one for us in that respect to get back on winning ways.
"The two points dropped against Everton was disappointing when it's the last kick of the game.
"But we bounced back really well in the cup against West Ham. We're through, we're in the quarters and that was a good step in the right direction again, another clean sheet."
Tuesday's win over the Hammers helped shake off the disappointment of Dominic Calvert-Lewin securing Everton a 3-3 league draw with the last kick of the ball last Saturday.
An FA Cup quarter-final trip to Leicester is the reward for United, who are still in with a shot at Premier League glory and start their Europa League campaign this week against Real Sociedad in the last-32.
Asked what he sees as a successful season for United and at which point his success has to be measured in trophies, Solskjaer said: "You always go into every season trying to improve.
"If you improve, that's a step forward. Is it a big enough step forward? We'll have to see at the end.
"If we end up with trophies. We're still in competitions. We lost in the semis of the Carabao Cup [to Man City], we're in the quarters of the FA Cup, we're still in Europe and we're second in the league.
"At the moment it looks like we've improved but we're going into the deciding period of the season so it's now that we have to kick on."
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Manchester United 1 West Ham 0: FA Cup player ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: Dean Henderson, 7 - Was barely needed in the first half and stood amid falling snow for much of the second as West Ham improved but had only one effort on goal to save in the first 90 minutes. Reuters -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 6 - Almost sliced a clearance into his own goal but made some key tackles. Reuters -
Victor Lindelof, 6 - Headed towards goal after 26 minutes but deflated when a superb Fabianski save denied him. Lost possession to Fornals to leave West Ham 3 vs 2. They couldn’t take advantage. Reuters -
Harry Maguire, 7 - Did nothing wrong as his team enjoyed 70 per cent possession. United’s captain will face far tougher tests, but the clean sheet from a defence that concedes too many goals will be welcomed. Reuters -
Alex Telles, 8 - United’s best player in the first half and showed Luke Shaw-like attacking intent. Lovely ball to Martial. Outpaced Yarmolenko. AP -
Nemanja Matic, 6 - Shot well over after 20 minutes. Did what he does but limited in impact against a team playing so deep. EPA -
Fred, 6 - Energetic but lost possession too often on a night short of entertainment. Reuters -
Mason Greenwood, 7 - Best bit of the first half when he beat Mark Noble for skill. Lively until he went off – his cross set up Rashford - and less peripheral than he’d been in some early season games. Reuters -
Donny van der Beek, 5 - Barely starts. Barely featured when he did start. Played in an advanced role behind Martial, but ineffective. It wasn’t the game for a player like him as West Ham sat deep and United had all the possession. He’s a player who arrives in the box, but it was already packed with Hammers. AP -
Marcus Rashford, 6 - 250th United appearance. Hoped to add to his 83 goals but Fabianski took advantage of him chesting the ball. Perfect touch to set up the winner. Still running until the 120th minute. He’s in the last eight of the FA Cup again, though, as United made that stage for a seventh consecutive season. EPA -
Anthony Martial, 6 - 250th United appearance like Rashford. Had first shot of game which was blocked by Ogbona. Brave header away from his own goal after 36 minutes. Battled against West Ham’s defensive wall, had nice touches and drove forward for the goal, but couldn’t score himself. Last shot of the game as, like Rashford, he battled to the end on a tough night. Reuters -
SUBS: Bruno Fernandes, 6 - On for Van de Beek after 72 minutes and his first instinct was to attack. -
Scott McTominay, 7 - On for Matic after 72 minutes and did what he’s been doing so frequently at Old Trafford – he scored. The 24-year-old has added a key part to his game which none of his defensive midfielders have: goals. EPA -
Edinson Cavani, 6 - On for Greenwood after 85 minutes and made runs off the shoulder of defenders. Gives United a different dimension. EPA -
Luke Shaw, 6 - On for Telles for extra time for that energy boost. Reuters -
Brandon Williams, 6 - On for Wan Bissaka. Important tackle on Benrahma after 120 minutes to prevent a ball going into the box and a possible last gasp equaliser as we saw at the weekend. EPA -
WEST HAM RATINGS: Lucasz Fabianski, 7 - Outside of the goal Fabianski was really impressive at Old Trafford with his shining moment being a great 27th minute save from a deflection. AFP -
Aaron Cresswell, 7 - Looked confident on the ball, produced several vital blocks and generally showcased why he’s such a valuable defensive asset for the Hammers. AFP -
Angelo Ogbonna, N/A - Showed clear and direct focus on the task at hand before unfortunately being taken off due to injury after 16 minutes. AP -
Craig Dawson, 7 - Served as a solid final line of defence with his aerial work being unmatched by any other player on the pitch. AFP -
Vladimir Coufal, 6 - Regularly put pressure on United’s forwards and while he may have been caught out for pace on occasion, he was still as committed as ever. Getty -
Mark Noble, 6 - The veteran was chasing shadows for large spells of the game but still put his body on the line at every available opportunity. AFP -
Declan Rice, 5 - The composure and elegance shown on the ball by Rice was somewhat spoilt when he lost the ball with a questionable touch that led to the winning goal. EPA -
Jarrod Bowen, 5 - He may enjoy running down the flank with intent, however, Bowen’s decision making and end product need some major work. AFP -
Pablo Fornals, 4 - Overhit passes, poor spatial awareness and no urgency on the ball makes for a triplet threat of reasons as to why this wasn’t Fornals’ night. Getty -
Tomas Soucek, 6 - Had to sit deeper than he would’ve liked but still came up with some bright moments - even if they were too few and far between. AP -
Andriy Yarmolenko, 5 - The inconsistent forward didn’t cause the hosts any serious problems before being substituted. PA -
SUBS: Ryan Fredericks, 6 - Was really alert to every movement after being brought on, even if that did lay the groundwork for quite a chaotic and inconsistent performance. AP -
Ben Johnson, 8 - Confident, assured in possession and arguably the most exciting threat West Ham had at their disposal. Reuters -
Issa Diop, 6 - Was switched on but looked better when resorting to powerful clearances as opposed to anything more in-depth. AFP -
Ademipo Odubeko, 4 - The youngster was clearly nervous and wasn’t quite ready for a game of this magnitude so early on in his career. Getty -
Said Benrahma, 6 - Should have done better with his header in injury time, and outside of that, didn’t do much to get West Ham moving. Getty -
Manuel Lanzini, N/A - Active and hungry for the ball but couldn’t provide enough of a spark to secure an equaliser for the visitors. EPA
