FILE - Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou and his Manchester United's counterpart Ruben Amorim are craving Europa League glory to try and save their respective seasons.
Image: Glyn Kirk / AFP
It’s been a horrific season in the Premier League for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but both teams are still in contention to qualify for the next year’s lucrative Champions League competition.
It’s unlikely that United and Spurs will finish in the top five places in the league this season after indifferent domestic campaigns.
The Red Devils are 13th in the league on 38 points, 15 points off Newcastle United in fifth. Tottenham are one point behind in 14th, having lost a whopping 16 matches in the league this season. So, their chances of qualifying for the tournament the conventional way are probably out of the question.
But both teams have one last avenue to the Champions League and the £100 million pay-out that comes with qualification.
The Europa League is United and Spurs’ holy grail this season, a major piece of silverware and Champions League qualification that could drastically change the mood in both camps.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has been going through the most over the last few months and is essentially pinning his hopes on the Europa League title to try and save his job.
Injuries have ravaged the team in his second season in charge after a fifth-placed finish when he came in at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Spurs take on Eintracht Frankfurt at home on Thursday for their first leg quarter-final, with a top result needed to set them up for what is likely to be a difficult return leg in Germany next week.
Postecoglou said it’s going to be tough to change the narrative around Tottenham's campaign and his own future, especially after a section of the club’s fanbase calling for his head. But he is sticking to his guns ahead of the match.
"(Someone) wrote that even if we win it (the Europa League), I'm gone anyway. That's not having a go at you, that's just saying the general sentiment of people. So if you're trying to use that as a motivation, you're not going to win that anyway.
"There's got to be something more in it for us.... We've been through a really tough time but we're still in a position where we can make an impact."
"As long as I'm in this position, that's always my focus, irrespective of whatever noise there is or what there may or not be in the future," he said. "I don't see that that should diminish my burning ambition, my desire and my determination to make that happen."
Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says that winning the Europa League this season would be "massive" as he attempts to rebuild a team heading for the club's worst top-flight finish since 1990.
United are away to Lyon on Thursday in the first leg of their quarter-final. "It's really important in all aspects," Amorim told reporters on Wednesday.
"The first one is to win a title, especially a European title. In this season, in this context, winning something like that is massive for us, for our confidence and then for the future.
"For next season, to play Champions League in our club is completely different - the environment, the way we are going to face the summer, the budget for the summer, everything is connected with this competition and we know that pressure."
Additional reporting by AFP
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