It was a tight and testing opening to our final match at the Bridge this season, with James, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer all going close in the first half to breaking the deadlock – Reece’s own effort struck the outside of the post. It would take until the final 20 minutes for us to find the decisive winner as Marc Cucurella headed in James’ pinpoint cross.

Our skipper was pleased to add three points to our tally after the visitors made it difficult, but he knows that there is still one final game to go against Nottingham Forest as we look to secure our place in next season’s Champions League.

‘It was a much-needed win, it was all or nothing to keep it in our hands,’ Reece began. ‘Manchester United set up well and made the first half very tough. We knew going into half time, we needed to come out, create a few chances and take one.

‘It's tough when you need to win, when they come here and make it difficult. We need to ignore where they are in the table because it doesn’t reflect how good they are. I think we saw that today. They made it tough, but we’re happy to get the win.’

Speaking about his impressive cross to Cucurella, the right-back explained how much he enjoys playing alongside his fellow full-back and how crucial the Spaniard's header was.

Reece continued: ‘I knew that I had space and time, and if I put it in the right area, then Marc [Cucurella] is always arriving, so I’m happy we were both able to contribute to the win today.

‘What makes the difference in the end is the goals. They didn’t have many chances; they had one offside goal, but they didn’t have much other than that. As a team, we’re getting stronger and I think we showed that today. We’re stepping up as a group.’

That decisive Premier League match comes next Sunday, and Reece knows that preparation will be key.

He added: ‘I’m pleased. I know we got what we wanted today, but the game is finished now. We have to get rest, recover and know we have two more huge games, and we need to win both.’