Manchester United has only one blow on a trophy this season, but Gary Neville and Roy Keane were diametrically opposed to the question of whether victory in the Europa League would transform this disappointing campaign into a success.
Currently 13th in the Premier League and on the FA and Carabao cuts, Man United has had a season to forget so far, and now only fights on one front – the Europa League.
Ruben Amorim and Co have also attracted Lyon to a far from simple tie, the first stage of which will start on Thursday evening in the French city.
While the competition represents a good chance of gaining a little silverware and strengthening morale at the club, there is also the no doubt more important bottillage of the qualification of the Champions League.
The Red Devils have almost no chance of playing in Europe in the next quarter without winning the Europa League, which means a hard blow for finances, and therefore less likely to acquire the player of the player who can help them come back so early.
For Neville, speaking on the Podcast Stick to Football, which was brought to you by Sky Bet, the acclaimed by raising a trophy would be sufficient to attribute some success to this disappointing season to Old Trafford.
Gary Neville (left) believes that winning the Europa League will be enough to ensure success, but his compatriot United Legend Roy Keane (right) had nothing
Ruben Amorim’s team will face Lyon in the quarterfinals of the Europa League Thursday
“The reason I would say that it will succeed is because United could not win the League this season, we knew that from the start, so that they can only win three trophies – the FA Cup, the Cup League and the Europa League.
“If they won one, I would say it is successful. There is a big but – they dismissed a manager and are 13th in the league and it’s bad.
Keane was not however influenced by the attraction of silverware and argued that it would not remove the defect of disappointment.
“Not this trophy, no. Not for Manchester United, perhaps for other teams who win this trophy ” said the former captain, speaking on the Podcast Stick to Football, brought by Sky Bet.
“There is a plus, because it will introduce them into the Champions League, but the trophy and this competition should not be sufficient for United, absolutely not.”
United was fighting for consistency throughout the campaign, initially under Erik Ten Hag and, later Amorim.
They won none of their first three games in the Europa League, which promised a way far from routine through the competition, before a back-to-fit tour guide them until the last 16 without the need for play-offs.
In fact, while the national campaign was from top to bottom, United has not yet lost in Europe, winning six of his games and pulling four.
Manchester United will face a fiercely climbing battle if they want to end up in European places
The Amorim team only beat Man City of the best six traditional teams in the Premier League
As Neville points out, however, the league campaign was impossible to ignore for the club.
While they beat Man City and also obtained prints with the citizens, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, being in the lower half of the table would have barely crossed their minds before the campaign.
Natural dentition problems were expected after the arrival of a new head coach who plays a very different way from his predecessor.
But approaching one of their most important transfer windows lately, apparently without playing an exciting football brand that could attract the eye of some of the best talents in the game will probably have a training effect.
After Thursday’s match against Lyon, they also faced the difficult task of taking Newcastle before welcoming the French side at home in Old Trafford.
They will then face the Wolves, Bournemouth and Brentford – three potentially vital games in their attempt to guarantee an improbable first place.
