Forget 4th .. Euro glory is our only aim
Mourinho set to field second team in weekend clash against Gunners
JOSE MOURINHO has given up on reaching the EPL top four – and admits he’ll field a weakened team at Arsenal on Sunday.
Manchester United are only one point behind rivals Manchester City in fourth place but boss Mourinho feels the fixture backlog has taken its toll on his players and he is now focusing on the Europa League.
United face Celta Vigo in the semi-final first leg tonight and the Special One is ready to throw in the towel against his bitter rival Arsene Wenger on Sunday so his players are ready for the return against the Spaniards next Thursday.
Mourinho, who has never lost in 15 competitive games against Wenger, said: “It would be a good achievement to win the Europa League given our problems and that would allow us to be back in the Champions League next season.
“We are going to try and that’s why the Europa League becomes more important for us now.
“It depends on the result against Celta. But if we have to rest players next weekend then we will.
“It’s too late in the league because in the past month we played nine matches, seven of them in the Premier League.
“We had too many problems, too many players injured and because of that we paid the price. We played against fresh teams and we were in a period of accumulation.”
It was a remarkable admission for a manager of Manchester United and particularly Mourinho to openly confess the top four has gone.
But the United gaffer claimed the return from injury of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling – back in the squad alongside fit-again Paul Pogba – has come too late to ease their problems.
Mourinho warned that opponents Celta Vigo – who are in mid-table in La Liga – rested players so they are fresh to face his men.
Mourinho added: “Their situation is comfortable in La Liga, so they manage also to focus on the Europa League, to rest players, to be at the maximum of their condition so it’s a difficult match for us.
“I don’t think they’re going to come and enjoy the match, if that was the case they wouldn’t have played with the second team against Bilbao and lost 3-0. They have lost two matches in La Liga playing with their second teams so it’s very clear they have come to win.” Mourinho began the season deriding the Europa League and United’s involvement in it. Now, with history beckoning, the final in sight and a Champions League place at stake, he has had a change of heart. He said: “It’s the only competition United has never won, so it would be great to close that circle and say we’re a club that won every single competition in the football world. “It would be a good achievement given the problems this season and would allow us to be back in the Champions League next season, so the Europa League has now become more important for us. “When somebody arrives in the semi-final, they want to be in the final. The Europa League is a long competition. You have to play the group stages and three knockout phases. The final is the next step.”