Ruben Amorim says Manchester United must play for pride and the millions of pounds on offer for Premier League places to make sure they finish the season strongly.
United’s disastrous domestic form is in sharp contrast to their success in the Europa League as they head to Brentford in 14th place on Sunday, three days after a sensational 3-0 semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao in Spain.
Amorim will make changes at the Gtech Community Stadium to avoid injuries ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford on Thursday, but wants his players to have pride in the remaining four games of the season – as well as climb higher up the table, with each place worth up to £3million.
‘We have to show the importance of every game in Manchester United,’ said Amorim. ‘Every position we have in the Premier League, you win more money. So that is important.
‘Then it is fighting for your pride. Of course we don’t have nothing to fight for. We have the second leg, which is really important for us. We know that, but we need to be competitive in every game.’
Amorim welcomed Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt back from injury in Bilbao but will not take any risks with a number of players at Brentford, including Noussair Mazraoui.
Ruben Amorim says Manchester United must play for pride so they end the season strongly
United took a huge step to the Europa League final with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in Spain
United’s disastrous domestic form is in sharp contrast to their success in the Europa League
‘The players that are in risk to get injured will not play, no matter what,’ he added. ‘We need to take a risk in that. And then we are going to assess tomorrow and the next day who are the best players to start the game.
‘We have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game. So the process is going to be like that, it is going to be tough. But we passed so many things this year, this one more. Let’s see.
‘There are some positions that we don’t have more players. For example, Mazraoui cannot play. He is in the limit to get an injury. We are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that they want to be in the great moment. We have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility of the result.
‘But in this moment we have to be clear. Our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive. It is not a good thing to say but we need to understand the context.’
