Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs Champions League return even more than Manchester United

Solskjaer could pay the price if United's finances hit by second year out of Europe's top competition

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not particularly want to play in the Europa League but he does not wish to be eliminated from it either. The prize which success in the competition would bring is too great for his club and himself personally. And whether he prioritises domestic or European affairs between now and May, the end goal is the same: a return to the Champions League.

“The longer you are out of it, the more you’ll suffer,” Solskjaer said ahead of Club Brugge’s visit to Old Trafford. He was speaking in reference to Manchester United’s latest financial results, which were published on Tuesday. More than anything else, the second quarter figures showed the impact that sitting away from the top table for a year can have, even at a club of the size and with the financial power of United.

The club’s broadcasting revenues dropped by more than a third – from £103.7m to £64.7m. This was anticipated by United as five of last season’s six Champions League group stage games fell during the period concerned, and it was slightly offset by encouraging gains in commercial revenue, but it is a reminder of how expensive a single year of failure can be to clubs accustomed to earning the riches at the top of the European game.

Failure to secure a top-four Premier League finish last season also affected match day revenues, which dropped by £5.9m, and the bottom line is that United are not performing as well financially today as they were 12 months ago. Total revenues across the financial year are still expected to drop by as much as £67m. By Tuesday’s close of play on the New York Stock Exchange, the club’s share price had fallen by 5 per cent.

Spending a second consecutive year outside the Champions League would be even more costly. United would already be able to bank at least £51m through prize money if they had qualified and progressed through this year’s group stages, with a share of the broadcasting revenues still to come. Last year’s run to the quarter-finals was worth approximately €75m. A year without that source of revenue is tough but manageable. Two years would be stomached and absorbed, but it is a long time.

There is also the infamous Adidas clause. United’s kit manufacturers will save £22.5m on their 10-year partnership if their brand goes without Champions League exposure for another year. It is believed that any hit will be staggered rather than suffered as a sudden blow. Yet it hardly inspires confidence at a time when United are seeking a main shirt sponsor to replace Chevrolet, who are unlikely to renew at a comparable rate. After signing a £410m seven-year deal in 2012, the car manufacturing giant immediately sacked the executive responsible.

The good news for the Glazer family, Woodward and Solskjaer is that there is more than one pathway back to the top table. United’s prospects of qualifying through the Premier League appeared bleak only a few weeks ago but have recently been enhanced by back-to-back victories over Chelsea and Watford. Solskjaer’s side are now only three points away from fourth-place.

And, of course, Manchester City’s two-year ban from Uefa competitions has provisionally brought fifth into play. But this backdoor route is not certain to stay open. City’s appeal was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday and will be viciously contested, perhaps even taken to the civil courts. And if the ban stands and the final Champions League spot falls to fifth-place, United’s chances of qualifying through the league this season are still rated as a toss-up. Their run-in is slightly tougher than average and there are plenty around them eyeing up a lucrative European berth.

All of which makes Thursday’s low-key last-32 second leg important. United remain among the favourites to win the Europa League, even after the Champions League drop-outs entered the draw and last week’s lukewarm performance in Bruges. Anthony Martial’s away goal gives Solskjaer every chance of a place in Friday’s last-16 draw and Brugge are missing three of their most important players, not least last week’s goalscorer Emanuel Dennis. United are expected to progress and should do so, moving within six games of the final in Gdansk.

Whether it comes through this competition or domestically, Solskjaer will know that falling short of a place on Europe’s biggest stage could have grave consequences. He will remember that the same failing ultimately did for David Moyes and Louis van Gaal before him. Jose Mourinho was dismissed much earlier in the season than those two immediate predecessors but at a stage when United were 11 points adrift of the top four and with little hope of re-entering the race.

The pressure on Solskjaer has eased of late and he has never been in any immediate peril. Woodward’s warm words of support during Tuesday’s investors call will not have gone unnoticed in the manager’s office. But the Norwegian cannot be sure of his position unless he guides United back to Tuesday and Wednesday night football. The last few years have taught us that the club itself can just about afford failure to qualify for the Champions League. The managers? Not so much.