Ruben Amorim has warned his Manchester United players that they have a "big responsibility" to salvage a dismal season by winning the Europa League.
United warmed up for their Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao by suffering yet another Premier League defeat at Brentford on Sunday.
Amorim's side slumped to a 4-3 loss that left them languishing in 15th place and in danger of their worst final position since they were relegated in 1973-74.
United's winless run in the league extended to six matches as they trailed 4-1 against Brentford before late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo restored a little pride for the lacklustre visitors.
Amorim has suffered 12 defeat in his 24 league games with United, winning just six times.
But, after their 3-0 first leg win over Bilbao last Thursday, United know they have the chance to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
"I think it's stressful to lose games. When we're fighting for a title it's not stressful," Amorim said.
"I have no doubts that we are playing better and we are understanding the way we play, even in this context.
"So we have to take all the hits in this moment. We are losing games in the Premier League, but we are fighting for the Europa League so we need to accept that and to think about now Thursday which is the most important game for us."
Amorim made eight changes at the Gtech Community Stadium in a bid to keep his stars fresh for the Bilbao second leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire were among the key players who started on the bench in a clear indication of Amorim's focus on Europe.
"We, as a club, need to understand in this moment that we have a big responsibility (to win the Europa League). We have to prepare a squad for different competitions," Amorim said.
"Rotation is good for the players. Everybody is playing, we are preparing more than one game but it's hard.
"Of course we want to be competitive, we struggled a lot during these 90 minutes. We have to think about the next game and then the Premier League.
"It's really hard but we are doing the best we can to try to manage the situation and try to risk in some games."