Wayne Rooney believes his team talks following Manchester United's FA Cup exit to Arsenal have helped the club rediscover their Premier League form.
Louis van Gaal's side were knocked out at the quarterfinal stage of the competition by the Gunners after losing 2-1 at Old Trafford on March 9 to effectively end their hopes of a trophy this season.
But United have gone on to win their last four Premier League games against Tottenham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City to sit third in the Premier League and on course for Champions League qualification.
United and England captain Rooney has been praised by Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini for becoming a dressing-room "leader" at a critical point in the season, but the 29-year-old says the team's form is a collective effort.
He told the club's official website on Monday: "I've always been quite vocal in the dressing room before games and I felt at the time it was right for me, after we'd lost to Arsenal in the cup, to put a few points across to the players which I thought might help the team.
"I'm not saying that's why we won the games against Tottenham and Liverpool! But it certainly didn't cause any harm doing it. It just felt like the right time for me to say something."
Asked whether his pregame team talks against Spurs and Liverpool were made on the spur of the moment, Rooney replied: "Yes, it's not something I do before every game.
"I'm always talking in the dressing room and giving my opinions to try to help the players get ready for the game, but on those occasions it was just something a bit different and something I felt was right to do."
On Herrera's description of his leadership qualities, Rooney responded: "It's nice to hear but it's not just me who speaks in the dressing room, there are a few of us. The most important thing is that the team keeps winning -- that's all everyone is focused on.
"I think we've been very well prepared going into [big] games. We put a lot of work and effort into making sure we're in the right shape and set up in the right way to play those matches and that's obviously helped us a lot because we've done quite well in them."
Despite sitting nine points clear of fifth-placed Southampton with six games left to play, Rooney insists United still have a job to do in order to return to Champions League football next season.
Asked whether United's tough recent run of fixtures has benefited his side, he replied: "I don't think you can ever say that really because they're always tough games. We have Chelsea away, Everton away, Arsenal at home... they're hard matches. We just have to make sure we're ready and fully prepared for them and hopefully we can pick up maximum points.
"I think the performances have been coming. We've been getting better and, certainly over the last few games, people have seen that we're playing good football, creating chances and controlling matches. If we continue to play like that I think it will be difficult for any team against us.
"[Champions League qualification] is important of course, but we have to take each game as they come and win the match that's in front of us so we can try to end the season with the biggest points tally we can get and finish as high as we can in the table. That's the main aim."