cheek as he thanked referee Michael Oliver for
sending off Ander Herrera in Manchester United's
FA Cup defeat to Chelsea this season.
The Red Devils secured their place in the Europa
League final via an ugly 1-1 draw against Celta
Vigo at Old Trafford, which was enough for a 2-1
aggregate victory.
It gives United the chance for a second trophy this
term having already collected the EFL Cup, while
Mourinho's men have also been locked in a battle
for fourth place in the Premier League.
The United manager has made no secret of his
despair at United's injury problems this season,
with the likes of Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling and
Phil Jones coming in for criticism from the
Portuguese, amid a hectic domestic and European
schedule.
United could have been playing even more matches
had they not succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at
Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup quarter-finals – a
game that saw Herrera dismissed in the 35th
minute.
And, when assessing United's chances in the
Europa League final against Ajax, Mourinho was
keen to offer his thanks to Oliver, who was the
official at Stamford Bridge.
"They [Ajax] will have 12 days to prepare for the
final and we will have three matches in the Premier
League to play with a group of 15-16 players after
a crazy season with so many matches," he said.
"We have played so many matches because we
progressed to two finals and the last 16 in the FA
Cup.
"I have to say thank you to Michael Oliver for that
red card to Ander Herrera because we couldn’t
survive going further in the FA Cup. So let's try to
prepare the team as best we can."
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