Ruben Amorim admitted on Wednesday that even the victory of the Europa League would not save the miserable season of Manchester United. The English giants who fell faced athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, with the first leg in Spain on Thursday. But whatever the result at the San Mames, also the place of the May final, it will not disguise the fact that this was the worst campaign of the era of the Premier League and one where the Liverpool Rivals equaled their record of 20 high -level English titles.
United is currently a 14th place in the Premier League table, having accumulated only 39 points with four games to play, which means that they will have to win the Europa League in order to qualify for the Champions League.
“Everyone knows it’s really important for our season,” said United Manager Amorim at a pre-match press conference.
“We know that nothing will save our season, but it can be huge.
“Winning a trophy and also entering the Champions League to have European matches next year could change a lot in our club, even in summer.”
United offers an offer to win the competition for the second time after their success under Jose Mourinho in 2016/17.
“As the head coach said, this will not save the season,” said midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
“But the story of United is written with titles, which is why we focus a lot on tomorrow and to be able to play in the Champions League next season, so it’s very important and quite we will try to win.”
Their European form was the only saving grace of United in a difficult season where Amorim had trouble feeling at the presence at the national level since his replacement of the Erik Ten Hag in November.
“The Europa League will not change anything in our problems – it will help us to have the Champions League next year, more money to spend – but the problems are still there,” said Amorim.
“We have to change the mind of our fans consistently, good decisions, good recruitment, good academy. This is what we have to change to bring this club back to the top.
“It’s no longer a shortcut to go to European games. Nothing more.”
The double finalist Bilbao has the additional incitement to try to reach a European final at their home.
“They are really strong in a team, really intense, really aggressive – even for a Spanish team, they are aggressive in each duel,” said Amorim.
“They have great One V one players. Nico Williams is a special player. They are the best defense in Spain in the League. We are not scoring too much goals, so it’s going to be a difficult match for us.”
United will have Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt, since February and early April respectively, available.
“To start, no,” said Amorim. “But they can be on the team for the match.”
(This story has not been published by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a unionized flow.)
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