As we soon embark on the crucial final stage of the season, Manchester United have 27 more Premier League points to fight for and a Europa League quarter-final to prepare for.
The Reds may have had a disappointing campaign by the standards we have set in previous seasons but it could still end on a high note if we can progress all the way in the European competition we won in 2017.
However, with more prize money at stake for each place we can climb in the league and a coveted spot in next season’s Champions League up for grabs if we can lift the trophy in Bilbao on 21 May, what should be the priority for Ruben Amorim’s Reds in the run-in?
That was the question posed during the latest episode of The Debate on MUTV.
When asked which one they would focus on, panellists Danny Simpson, Wes Brown and Harry Robinson each said the Europa League - but host Liam Bradford argued it should be both.
“I don’t think that you can perform well in a cup competition without carrying some momentum over from your league campaign, therefore you have to perform well in the Premier League to be able to perform well in the Europa League,”
the MUTV commentator opined.
‘AS MAN UNITED PLAYERS, YOU’VE GOT TO WIN EVERY GAME’
Danny, who made eight first-team appearances for United during the 2007/08 season, feels both competitions are equally important and managing the squad will be key.
“We’ve got a break now then Forest away before playing [Manchester] City, so the lads can play Forest, go for it, play against City at home, it’s a derby so we have to win that,”
the former full-back said.
“Going into Lyon, which is away first, what people might not realise is the travelling away and getting back at 2am in the morning. They will then have one day and then get a bus to Newcastle so, for me, for Newcastle I would change the team because we’ve then got the second leg back home against Lyon. You manage it like Sir Alex used to do all of them years ago where he would say ‘you be ready for that game because you’ll get a chance’. We can do that.
“I just think as Man United players you’ve got to win every game. But I do think you can rest one or two [players] and still try to win that game [in the Premier League] looking into Lyon at home. I just think you can do that.”
'DIFFERENT MINDSET AND MENTALITY IN EUROPE'
Danny's fellow ex-defender Wes, who knows how it feels to win a European trophy with United, made his case that the Europa League should be top of the agenda simply because of the potential Champions League reward and that European nights just hit differently.
“It would put us in a massive competition for next season because we’re not going to get there in the league,”
explained our former no.6, who helped the Reds win the Champions League in 2008 - one of 13 trophies he won in his 15 seasons at Old Trafford.
“I understand going up in the league and every place earns you more money. Yes you’re right, you have to be playing at a good standard in the league but cups are cups. I’m not saying you can switch it on, but I think we’ve got ourselves in this position for a good five seasons now where we’ve always progressed in the Europa and got to a certain point and, for whatever reason, our mindset is we understand we need to win in the cup.
“With all of the injuries we’ve got, I don’t think we can change too much anyway. You’re hoping you play well in the league and say you do get beat by one of the teams, as long as you’ve played well, you’ve created opportunities, you can take the positives into Europe 100 per cent. Like I said, in Europe it’s a different mindset, it’s a different mentality.”
'WATCHING YOUR TEAM IS ABOUT THOSE MOMENTS'
As we know, anything can happen in a knockout game and Liam made the point that if a refereeing decision was to go against United - like in the last-16 first leg away at Real Sociedad - which leads to the Reds going out against Lyon and we had potentially damaged our chances of finishing higher in the Premier League by prioritising the European competition, it’s a consideration that has to be taken into account.
However, club reporter Harry believes the cup competitions can provide moments that create lasting memories for our legions of fanatical followers around the world.
“If you’re a manager or a fan, watching your team is about those moments and seeing United, for example, against Lyon either home, away or both is a moment,”
he explained. “Seeing them then go to play Athletic Club from Bilbao or Rangers - an away game at Ibrox would be a moment.
“If you think about the last two seasons, Erik ten Hag’s first season ended quite disappointingly with the FA Cup final defeat and the league form kind of fizzled out a little bit. But I still look back very fondly on that season because of what we won - the day in February when we beat Newcastle which made it brilliant.
“Going back to last summer, that is one of the best days I’ll ever have as a United fan because we won the FA Cup. You can’t underestimate if you’re talking about momentum and also with a new manager where you need that faith so that when we might lose a game at Old Trafford, the atmosphere is going to be disappointed. But there’s not that anger because there’s a belief as to what’s to come.
“A run in any trophy is what gets you that and those memories where you start to associate ‘that was a great night and Ruben Amorim gave it to me’. That’s what he needs fans to be thinking.”
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