Ralf Rangnick is hopeful Marcus Rashford could play a significant role in Manchester United's run-in after his 93rd-minute winner in the Premier League against West Ham.
Rashford was benched by Rangnick last month but emerged to score coolly against Brentford in the 3-1 midweek win and came off the bench again to poach a winner with the last kick to send United up to fourth for the first time since October 16.
United do not play again until February 4 against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup when Rashford is expected to start. The 24-year-old replaced teenager Anthony Elanga on the hour mark against West Ham and could have played his way back into the starting XI for the next Premier League match at Burnley on February 8.
"He's one of the top strikers in England," Rangnick said. "He's an England international who regularly played in the European Championship, we know the qualities he has.
"He has almost everything a modern striker needs. He's got the pace, skills, he's got the size and physicality of a striker and in the end, it's all about confidence for strikers and I'm pretty sure those two goals will have raised the level of confidence with Marcus and now it's about taking steps, it's about continuity now.
"I think he can play a very important role for the rest of the season for us."
Tottenham or Arsenal could leapfrog United if they win their fixture on Sunday but United finally won successive games under Rangnick to break a pattern of winning every other game.
Rangnick threw on Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial after Rashford came on and the trio were involved in the only goal.
"Stoppage-time is also part of the time you're playing," Rangnick explained. "So, of course, to say I was convinced we would score that goal in the last second of the game would be unrealistic.
"We pushed hard, we did everything, we took all the risk in the world to win that game. If I look at the shots on goal and the chances during the game, I think we deserved a 1-0 win.
"For me, it was clear from the very beginning it would take some patience against a well organised team like West Ham. It was not always easy for us to find the best possible solutions in the final third.
"But it was probably the best performance in the last eight weeks, the way we were always trying to win balls back, the physicality of the game was really outstanding and we know we still have to improve with possession of the ball."
Given the timing of the winner, Rangnick was asked if 'Ralfie Time' could catch on. "I don't know how long Fergie Time was. Was that the last five minutes? How long? I wouldn't mind if that happened!
"But, again, we would also like to have more games like Brentford at the end when we were 3-0 up. But if you score in the last seconds of the game the big advantage is there is no time for the team to reply that was the good one about the goal."
