As Manchester United supporters pick themselves out of the rubble of a damning night in Bilbao, I would like to offer the glimmer of optimism this fanbase desperately needs.

There is no excusing United’s season. It is embarrassing. The players, coaches and board are all culpable and are receiving the scrutiny they deserve.

It is going to sting for a while. But once the doom and gloom subsides, I believe we will realise the result is not as disastrous in the long run as it currently feels.

Ruben Amorim needs as much time on the training pitch as possible if he is going to adapt the hideous squad he inherited into a team capable of regularly winning football matches.

With just one game a week next season, he will have more time to work on his system and develop his players with drills and video analysis.

United will have more opportunities to improve attacking and defending set-pieces, and team-mates can enhance their understanding of each other’s habits to build patterns.

Fewer games should also result in fewer injuries – an issue that hampered Erik ten Hag last season and has made Amorim’s job harder this term.

He can also strengthen relationships – personally and professionally – with players, including newcomers he will recruit using funds from offloading those who cannot meet his demands.

No European football will allow United to trim the squad aggressively. They can axe stars without having to replace them.

And the financial blow of missing out on Champions League football is slightly offset by the fact salaries will not increase by 25 per cent for competing in Europe’s premier cup competition.

United, naturally, have to be in there. No European football at all is painful. But if it is for one year only, the club must use it as an opportunity that should not come around again.

Find more from Alex Turk at Turk Talks FC, external