Amorim's final wish

UNITED FACE WORSE LEAGUE FINISH SINCE 1974... BUT A EUROPA WIN TO QUALIFY FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WILL SAVE ANY RED FACES

- BY SIMON MULLOCK Chief Football Writer

RUBEN AMORIM is prepared to accept the humiliation of Manchester United's worst finish to a league season for over 50 years in a bid to fast-track his Old Trafford rebuild.

Amorim has been told that the war chest being prepared for a raft of summer arrivals could be boosted by £50million IF he guides United to a Europa League triumph.

It would also deliver the huge bonus of automatic qualification to next season's Champions League.

With that in mind, the Portuguese coach is ready to safeguard key players from injury and fatigue - even if that means swallowing the bitter pill of ending the Premier League campaign mired near the bottom of the table.

On Thursday night, United took a huge step towards booking a Europa League Final date with Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt on May 21 with a 3-0 semi-final first-leg win at Athletic Bilbao, in their best performance of the season.