Ruben Amorim's latest Manchester United truth bomb is a message to his players for next season

Covering Manchester United this season is like covering two different football clubs. They are the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of the Premier League.

So as Ruben Amorim pulled up a seat in the Jimmy Murphy Centre to discuss a European semi-final second leg as routine as they come, it didn't always feel like this was a success story we were there to preview. In fact, Amorim made sure it wasn't that.

Yes, United are 13 games unbeaten in Europe. They won 3-0 in Bilbao to put themselves on the brink of a return to that city for a Europa League final, but nobody can pretend this has been a successful season. In isolation, a European final and a potential route into the Champions League are fine achievements, but Amorim is determined that the campaign will be taken as a whole, warts and all.

And in the Premier League there are a lot of warts. This team sit 15th in the table and shifting their focus to the Europa League could yet see them slide further down. They have already lost 16 times and nobody has stopped the count in that particular column so far.

When Amorim was asked - again - by the Spanish press about his January claim that this was the worst United team in history, he didn't backtrack from it, he doubled down. Scaling back his historical timeline to the last 50 years is hardly offering an olive branch to the dressing room.

Just over 24 hours before a night that could be rapturous at Old Trafford, Amorim delivered a few more home truths. When he was asked if he didn't know which United team would turn up, the question was calling out for a headline, and Amorim delivered.

In fact, he went further. Not only did he not know which team would turn up, but he didn't know which team would be on show from one minute to the next