Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that winning the Europa League trophy won’t save the club this season following a disappointing season.
The Red Devils have endured a torrid time under the Portuguese manager since he replaced Erik Ten Hag in November.
The club is currently languishing in the 14th position on the Premier League table but they have a semi-final date against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Winning the competition will hand Amorim a major trophy in his first season, and it will also earn the club a place in the Champions League.
Amorim believes winning the trophy won’t make up for the disappointing season.
He said: “We know nothing is going to save our season but this can be huge.
“Winning a trophy, getting in the Champions League to play European games next year could change a lot of things in our club in the summer.
“We need to change a lot of things and we need to be consistent.
“Europa League will not change anything in our problems. It’s going to give us Champions League next year, more money to spend, but the problems are still there.
The former Sporting Lisbon manager admitted that the club needs to undergo changes in key areas to return to the top.
He said’: “We have to change the minds of our fans with consistency, good decisions, good recruitment, good academy.
“This is what we need to change to take our club back to the top. This is more of a shortcut to go to the European games. Nothing more.
“The problems we need to solve in a different way with more time and we’re really clear on that.”
Manchester United have struggled to score goals this season only Everton, Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton have scored fewer goals in the Premier League.
They will be taking on an Athletic Bilbao side with the best defensive record in Spain, and the best home defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues having conceded just 10 goals.
Amorim admitted that it will be tough for the Red Devils to break Athletic Bilbao’s defence.
He concluded: “We are not scoring too many goals, so it’s going to be a tough match for us.
“We know that in the beginning of the game, 20 or 30 minutes especially, they are really strong, really intense.
“They use the crowd to take the game to a different level. We are prepared for that, so we are going to face a very strong team.”
Manchester United’s duo of Amad Diallo, and Matthijs de Ligt are expected to be on the bench for the encounter after they returned to training on Wednesday.
