Manchester United v Celta Vigo: Jose Mourinho denies prioritising Europe over Premier League

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho attends a press conference at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England on May 10, 2017, ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg football match against Celta Vigo. Miguel Riopa / AFPShow less

MANCHESTER // Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has not gambled with the club’s season by prioritising Europa League success over a top-four finish in the Premier League, he said Wednesday.

Mourinho has given up on United’s hopes of securing Uefa Champions League qualification via the league and fielded a weakened team in last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal.

United are 1-0 up ahead of the home leg of their Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo on Thursday and with victory in the tournament yielding a Champions League slot, Mourinho says his choices were entirely rational.

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“The situation is simple. Seventeen matches in seven weeks with 16 players is impossible. It was not a gamble. It was a simple decision,” he told reporters at Old Trafford.

“It was a decision based on common sense. Seventeen matches in seven weeks, April and May. Seventeen matches with 16 players is completely impossible.

“We lost four players in one week, when we lost [Chris] Smalling and [Phil] Jones in the [England] national team and [Marcos] Rojo and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] against Anderlecht” in the previous round of the Europa League.

“After that we lost boys that could be alternatives: Ashley Young, Luke Shaw, Timothy Fosu-Mensah. When we lost these players in a period of 17 matches in seven weeks, it was the impossible job.

“It was not a gamble, just a consequence of our situation.”

Mourinho has already led United to victory in the League Cup, but they lie four points off the Champions League places with three matches of the Premier League season remaining.

Meanwhile club captain Wayne Rooney said he wants to stay at United, even if the lack of game-time is grating on the club’s all-time top scorer.

For so long a key player for club and country, this season the 31-year-old forward has found himself in the unusual position of scrapping for a starting role.

Rooney has made just 22 United starts across all competitions and continuing questions over his viability at the top level have fuelled talk that his future lies away from Old Trafford.

Rooney spoke of his desire to win the competition on the eve of the semi-final second leg against Celta Vigo. “Of course you want to play, you want to play every game,” he said. “Sometimes that’s football.

“I’ve had to keep working and try to take my chances when I get the opportunity. That’s what I’ve done and when called upon I’ll try my best to help the team.”

Rooney continues to be linked with a big-money move to China, where his agent Paul Stretford spent time earlier in the year speaking to interested clubs.

But Rooney said is keen to stay at Old Trafford. “Would I like to stay? I’ve been at this club 13 years,” he said. “Of course I want to play football.” When asked if he wanted to do it at United, he responded: “Of course.”

* Agencies

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