Since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag on the Manchester United bench in November, the team’s struggles in the Premier League have continued. With only three games remaining, they sit in 15th place in the league table.

Their poor performance in the league has led some to label this as the worst Manchester United team in history—a criticism that Amorim has not shied away from, openly acknowledging the shortcomings. Despite being 24 points behind a Champions League qualification spot, United has reached the Europa League final and is now just one game away from securing a major trophy and qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Scholes believes his former club sacrificed this Premier League season to ensure participation in next year’s Champions League. However, he disagrees with this strategy and fears it may backfire on Amorim. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “Manchester United should be capable of competing in two or three tournaments simultaneously without sacrificing anything, but they have clearly sacrificed the league.

I don’t like it, and I don’t agree with it. In my opinion, a Premier League team should maintain a certain standard. It’s as if they’re going into league games with the mindset that they’re not going to win, which is insane. I think this mindset has been accepted, even by the manager, though he denies it.

He’s not fielding a team designed to win the league. I think even the fans are saying: ‘Let’s get these league games over with because this season has been a disaster.’ Probably, the fans are saying: ‘Play whoever you want, we don’t care.’ There’s this kind of acceptance, which I think is wrong because the Premier League is the foundation of a club.

But if they secure Champions League qualification by winning the Europa League, I hope everything will be forgotten. However, the bitter taste of this disastrous league campaign will linger, and they might regret it next season. I think the manager should use this opportunity to learn how to win games when the team isn’t playing well because this situation will repeat next year. I don’t think you can just press a button next season and suddenly see the team performing brilliantly in the league. I think it’s a huge risk to sacrifice the Premier League just to be in next season’s Champions League.”