Manchester United and Ineos need to win the Europa League - but Ruben Amorim isn't so sure

The stakes couldn't be much higher for Manchester United and Tottenham in Bilbao next week. A trophy to wash away at least some of the shame of a season of total embarrassment on the domestic front, an unlikely spot in the Champions League and a £100million+ boost to the summer transfer budget.

For Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim, maybe there is some personal salvation too, the chance to turn a narrative around, but their situations look set. Postecoglou is very likely to leave Spurs, win or lose, and Amorim will stay at United, win or lose. The Aussie could walk away with a trophy and enhance his job prospects elsewhere, and the Portuguese could buy himself time at Old Trafford, but this final is bigger for the clubs rather than the managers.

It looks like this will be a battle between the 16th and 17th best teams in the Premier League. The big six superpowers are somehow only propped up by the three teams getting relegated this season. Whatever happens in Bilbao, the stain of such a dismal 38-game campaign won't be removed completely.

But it's about next season as well, and although Amorim is desperate for the trophy, he sounds uncertain about the rewards that will follow, not in terms of the silverware, but a spot in the Champions League for a team that he has declared aren't ready for such challenges.

Take this snippet from his post-match press conference on Sunday after losing to West Ham: "I don’t know what is best, if it’s playing Champions League or not."

Or this from his pre-match press conference ahead of the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon: "If you look at this moment, I think we are not ready to be really competitive in the Premier League and to cope with the Champions League. I think