Paul Scholes somewhat disrespected the Europa League ahead of Manchester United's 3-2 win over Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus last Thursday evening, describing it as a competition that is 'hard to get motivated for'.
Scholes made the admission in relation to Erik ten Hag's decision to hand Cristiano Ronaldo a starting berth, just days after he was left to warm the bench during United's 6-3 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The 37-year-old played the full 90 minutes in Cyprus, providing the assist for one of United's three goals, helping them move one step closer towards the knockout stages of the competition.
The Reds have won two of their opening three matches in Group E and another victory over Omonia at Old Trafford this evening would put them on the brink of qualification. After competing in the Champions League last term, United, with a squad packed full of quality, should have the objective of winning the Europa League this season.
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Although finishing inside the top four in the Premier League is their bread and butter this season, the Europa League offers them an alternate route back into the Champions League and an opportunity to re-stock their trophy cabinet for the first time since 2017. It is why, therefore, Ten Hag deserves credit for his attitude towards the competition so far this season; he has named a strong team in each of United's opening three matches and that is a trend that is set to continue on Thursday night.
Asked during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday if he would shuffle his pack for the visit of Neil Lennon's side, Ten Hag said: "All out for the victory. It's Europe, it's tough. The first game is the most important. We want to be number one in the group so we want to win that game."
Stressing that he will not use the clash with Omonia to offer some of his fringe players an opportunity to prove their worth speaks volumes about Ten Hag's winning mentality and desire to maintain the recent momentum United have developed. At the very least, considering the opponents United have been pitted up against in their respective group, you would have expected Ten Hag to rotate his goalkeeper, handing either Martin Dubravka or Tom Heaton a go in goal in place of David de Gea.
That has not happened, not so far anyway. The Dutchman has stuck by his most senior stars, calling on the likes of Diogo Dalot, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes to feature prominently in the competition.
Although a handful of youngsters have made it onto the bench in United's most recent Europa League fixtures, only Charlie McNeill and Alejandro Garnacho have stored some minutes under their belts - and not very many. For context, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has heavily rotated his squad in the competition so far, suggesting that Ten Hag is prepared to take it much more seriously than his Premier League counterpart.
Approaching the Europa League with a full-strength team only sends out one message: you have aspirations of winning it. United are a club that is used to winning trophies and Ten Hag, it seems, is doing all he can to bring the feel-good factor back to Old Trafford.
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