"It's both pride and disappointment. We have to be proud because when you talk about 86 points, it's massive. But still it's not enough to win the title. Clearly we have to improve and be almost perfect if we want to win the title," said Benitez.
"It's not just United. You see Chelsea, you see Arsenal, and I'm sure Aston Villa, City and Tottenham will be better in the future.
"We have only lost two games in the Premier League and five or six in all competitions. It's not easy ending the season without a trophy with these numbers but the Premier League and England is very difficult. We still have to improve, but clearly we have improved a lot.
"We have to now keep the same level as this season, the consistency. You can talk about the draws but also we've won a lot of games at the end. We need to be more ruthless from the beginning.
"It's a challenge for us now to sign the right players, start the season like we did this one and not make mistakes."