Zlatan: Manchester United has to 'step it up' in busy October

Manchester United may be struggling to get in the groove as of late, and, as manager Jose Mourinho put it, a "poisoned" early season schedule doesn't help matters much.

But for new star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the excuses start - and end - from within the team.

Three consecutive losses in mid-September have now been forgotten with four successive victories in various competitions, but the Red Devils are far from perfect, according to Ibrahimovic, and he's asking his teammates to take it up one more notch ahead of a busy October, which features tilts against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City.

"I think we could do much more. I - how do you say - expect much more from the team," Ibrahimovic said following a 1-0 win over Zorya Lunansk in Europa League action on Thursday.

"We're working hard and against Leicester we did a good game, today we did a good game.

"We didn't score as (many goals as) we did against Leicester but we won and this is good for the confidence.

"If we continue like this and step it up a little bit more then we will do good."

Ibrahimovic has enjoyed a strong start to his own personal career at Manchester United, notching six goals thus far and helping bring entertaining football back to the masses at Old Trafford.

Reunited under Mourinho, Ibrahimovic starts up top with a tandem of attackers around him in support, and while Wayne Rooney's role in attacking midfield has been a hot topic of late, the Swedish striker says individual characters alone cannot be made the focus.

"We play as a team, we create as a team, and we are trying," Ibrahimovic said. "Sometimes you create a lot, sometimes you create less, but the important thing is that you create chances. Then when the chance is coming you need to be focused and try to score."