Manchester United fell apart on the pitch in Bilbao - and then they fell apart off it

The appointment of Ruben Amorim was supposed to be the start of a new era at Manchester United, but as Amorim and his players trudged out of the San Mames stadium in the early hours of Thursday morning, it felt more like the end.

For months, this team had survived an ordeal of Thursday night highwire acts, but they could never escape their reality. One false step in the Europa League would transform them from a team chasing glory to one stripped of its protective layer.

So when they were finally exposed in Bilbao, they looked more vulnerable than at any point this season. Within seconds of full-time, the United end had virtually emptied, furious at the meekness of the performance they had just seen in a European final.

By the time those supporters were back in the bars around Plaza Nueva or in buses and taxis back to Santander, San Sebastian, or Vitoria, they would have been reading about Amorim's offer to walk away without a penny in compensation if United decide he isn't the man for the job.

The majority of these supporters still back the 40-year-old - although some are now harbouring doubts - and he will get support at Old Trafford on Sunday, but Ineos will surely give that offer at least some consideration. Sir Jim Ratcliffe likes the way Amorim shoots from the hip, but words will only get you so far.

It is deeds that will keep Amorim in a job. He has now lost 16 of his 41 games in charge and is primarily the head coach associated with the club's worst season in 51 years. The players will carry that stain with them as well.

By my reckoning, it's been three years since a United player last spoke to the written media in a mixed zone after a Premier League defeat, when David de Gea volunteered for a mea culpa after the