Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that his side have enjoyed a "very, very good season" following their success in the Europa League final this evening.
A 2-0 win over Ajax in Stockholm saw United claim the only major trophy which had previously eluded them as Mourinho scooped a third piece of silverware in his debut season at the club, adding to the Community Shield and EFL Cup titles.
The result also confirmed United's place in the Champions League next season but, having played 64 matches in a busy campaign, Mourinho admitted that it has been the toughest year of his career.
"It is the end of a very difficult season, but I think a very, very good season. We prefer this way than to finish fourth, third or second. We got the objective of returning to the Champions League, but by winning a title, and important title, a title that closes the lot. The club is now a club with every title in world football and we are very happy because we fought hard for this since the beginning," he told BT Sport.
"We had this in our minds. We always thought that we could win the Europa League, and we are very happy especially because the way we played the final was very intelligent. We knew exactly how to win and we did it in a comfortable away against a good team. We were much stronger than them.
"We knew where they were better than us, we knew where we were better than them. We tried to kill their good qualities and tried to explore their weaknesses and we did that very well. We totally deserve the trophy. Three trophies in the season, Champions League [qualification], Europa League - I'm really happy with the players in probably my most challenging season as a manager."
Mourinho has now won the UEFA Cup/Europa League in both of the last two seasons he has been involved in the competition.
Barney Corkhill
