<text>  Chris Smalling insists Manchester United are capable of overtaking bitter rivals Manchester City and finishing second in the league. United put on their best display of the season on Sunday as they swept aside Tottenham in a near-effortless 3-0 victory at Old Trafford. The impressive performance raised hopes and expectation levels at the club and Smalling thinks United are well-equipped to sustain that kind of performance level for the rest of the season. Chris Smalling, pictured tussling with Tottenhams Harry Kane, believes Manchester United can finish second . Wayne Rooney scores Uniteds third goal in their comfortable 3-0 win against Tottenham on Sunday . United are two points behind City, who lost to Burnley on Saturday, and just one point adrift of third-placed Arsenal. And Smalling is convinced finishing second above City is not just a pipe dream. Yes, I think we could, especially after Citys result on Saturday, the United defender said. It is all very close. I think its very open all the way up to second place and we will be aiming for that, especially when we are playing those teams coming up. We want Champions League football back here. Its a must. Fourth is the minimum but when its there, second is a realistic target and if we keep on performing like that I dont see why we cant give it a good push. United face Liverpool, Aston Villa, City and Chelsea over the next four weeks and then host Arsenal on the penultimate weekend. Many viewed the difficult run-in as a reason why United could fail to qualify for the Champions League, but Smalling views the situation in exactly the opposite way. Marouane Fellaini helped United cruise past Champions League rivals Spurs with an early goal at Old Trafford . The former Everton man celebrates in front of a section of home supporters after finding the back of the net . These games are six-pointers, the England centre-back said. We can do ourselves a favour and do our rivals big damage as well. Sunday was the first step. It was the perfect time to put in a performance like that, especially with our run of fixtures. Confidence will be good, its one of the biggest games of the season and hopefully we can play like that again. A video released by The Sun on Sunday, appearing to show Wayne Rooney being knocked out by Stoke defender Phil Bardsley, dominated the build-up to the match. But Rooney poked fun at the episode by shadow boxing during his celebration for his goal at Old Trafford. Rooney celebrates his goal against Spurs by mocking a video of him being knocked out by Phil Bardsley . It was not the first time Rooney has been at the centre of controversy during his career and it was interesting on Monday that he picked out another player who had a rollercoaster career - Paul Gascoigne - as his favourite English footballer during a Chevrolet Google Hangout. I think hes probably still, to this day, the greatest English player. For excitement and goals, he was my favourite player, the United and England captain said. Asked what it was specifically about Gascoigne that Rooney liked, he said: His ability to turn games round on their head and produce magical moments. He was a perfect entertainer on the pitch. CHELSEA . Hull away - March 22 . Stoke home - April 4 . QPR away - April 12 . Man United home - April 18 . Arsenal away - April 26 . Leicester away - April 29 . Crystal Palace home - May 2 . Liverpool home - May 9 . West Brom away - May 16 . Sunderland home - May 24 . MANCHESTER CITY . West Brom home - March 21 . Crystal Palace away - April 6 . Man United away - April 12 . West Ham home April 19 . Aston Villa home - April 25 . Tottenham away - May 2 . QPR home - May 9 . Swansea away - May 16 . Southampton home - May 24 . ARSENAL . Newcastle away - March 21 . Liverpool home - April 4 . Burnley away - April 11 . Sunderland home April 18 postponed . Chelsea home - April 26 . Hull away - May 2 . Swansea home - May 9 . Man United away - May 16 . West Brom home - May 24 . MANCHESTER UNITED . Liverpool away - March 22 . Aston Villa home - April 4 . Man City home - April 12 . Chelsea away - April 18 . Everton away - April 26 . West Brom home - May 2 . Crystal Palace away - May 9 . Arsenal home - May 16 . Hull away - May 24 . LIVERPOOL . Man United home - March 22 . Arsenal away - April 4 . Newcastle home - April 13 . Hull away - April 18 . West Brom away - April 25 . QPR home - May 2 . Chelsea away - May 9 . Crystal Palace home - May 16 . Stoke away - May 24 . TOTTENHAM . Leicester home - March 21 . Burnley away - April 5 . Aston Villa home - April 11 . Newcastle away - April 19 . Southampton away - April 25 . Manchester City home - May 2 . Stoke away - May 9 . Hull home - May 16 . Everton away - May 24 . SOUTHAMPTON . Burnley home - March 21 . Everton away - April 4 . Hull home - April 11 . Stoke away - April 18 . Tottenham home - April 25 . Sunderland away - May 2 . Leicester away - May 9 . Aston Villa home - May 16 . Man City away - May 24 . Note: Fixtures in May subject to change for television schedule. For a full list of Premier League fixtures and to check kick-off times, results and league tables, visit our brilliant MATCH ZONE by clicking HERE. Games marked postponed will be rearranged due to FA Cup . 