MANCHESTER, May 9 — Anything less than winning the Europa League title on May 21 will not be enough for Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, who said finishing second will amount to nothing and the club’s long-suffering fans deserve better.
United substitute Mason Mount struck twice as United trounced Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday for a 7-1 aggregate victory and a place in an all-English final against Tottenham Hotspur.
A victory in the final would mean not just a place in the Champions League next season — and the sizable financial injection that comes with it — but a much-needed belief after a dreadful Premier League season.
“The money is not the most important, even the title, to win a title as a coach,” Amorim said. “It’s that feeling that we can do good things, the feeling to give something to our fans, especially in this kind of season. So, it’s not just playing Champions League next year. Is that feeling too that we can change things.
“I’m stressed already because of the final. If we don’t do it, it means nothing.”
While the final in the Spanish city of Bilbao will be Amorim’s biggest task yet as United boss, he has won several Portuguese trophies.
Asked where a Europa League title would rank, the 40-year-old said: “Every coach will say that the next one is the most important. But it would be massive, especially after this season in Premier League.
“Both teams are going to play like all or nothing, the position of the coach(es) is quite similar, we are struggling both of us.”
Mount became the first substitute to score a double in a European knockout match for United since David Beckham against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April 2003.
When Mount caught the goalie well out of his net deep in injury time and launched a rocket from just inside Athletic’s half to score his second, the television caught Amorim laughing with delight.
“Not just me,” Amorim said. “If you look at the bench, that is the best feeling as a coach, when you look at the other guys on the bench and they are so happy for Mason Mount, because everybody in that dressing room sees Mason Mount doing everything he can to be available.
“His teammates were so happy for him.” — Reuters
