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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has stressed that he has no issue telling certain players that they will not play in the upcoming Europa League final or even be in the squad.
United will face fellow Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur in an all-or-nothing final on Wednesday.
Not only will the winner walk away with a European trophy, but they’ll also bag a £100million place in next season’s Champions League.
Winning the Europa League will undoubtedly make some amends for just how poor the Red Devils have been this season but Amorim is under no illusions that all will be forgiven.
United are currently languishing in 16th place, having suffered 18 top-flight losses. Half of these have come at home.
Speaking ahead of the final at San Mamés, Amorim made it clear that only victory will suffice, stressing that no one will remember he and his players were finalists if they fail to win the trophy.
The Portuguese coach said [as quoted by the Daily Mail], “Something that I learned as a player is you need to win. Nobody is going to say ‘I was a finalist’, especially in this kind of club. So we need to win the final.”
“It’s really important, massive for us, and we want to give that to our fans. It’s a mixed feeling. I’m really excited but, at the same time, I know my responsibility as a Manchester United coach.”
“I have always that feeling of frustration for the season, so I want really bad to help the team to win this final. We’ve got to give something to the club, to the fans, to the staff, to everybody.”
He added, “It’s hard. It’s not enough, winning the Europa League. It’s not enough for all the support the fans gave us this season.”
“They will go swimming (to Bilbao) if needed to, even without a ticket! I already know. A big thank you for everything they did during the season. We will do our best to give something to them.”
Amorim explained that he will not hesitate to be ruthless with his squad selection.
“Of course, it’s not a good thing for any player to hear that [they will be dropped or won’t be in the XI] but I’m quite comfortable with that, it’s my job.”
“We’ve had a lot of players out through injury. So it doesn’t matter if you play one minute in the final. Of course, you want to play 90 minutes, but the important thing is to win. If we win, all the players are going to win this final and they all played in the Europa League.”
“When you are a player, you just think about doing your job and trying to win it. This is different. You have to prepare the team, to help the staff, to say the right things before the game. All these things are really important as a manager.”
The game kicks off at 20:00 BST.
Featured image Clive Brunskill via Getty Images
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