Christian Eriksen admits Manchester United are lucky not to have been relegated after their worst-ever Premier League season.
United finished 15th thanks to a last-day win over Aston Villa but could have finished one place above the drop zone if results had gone another way.
Ruben Amorim’s total of 27 points from 27 games meant he finished with only a marginally better record than Paul Jewell who took Derby down with a record-low 11 points in 2008.
United also missed out on the consolation of a Champions League place by losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.
Amorim described it as a ‘disaster season’ after signing off with victory over Villa on Sunday, but Eriksen believes it could have been even worse.
‘I think unfortunately there’s been a lot of lows this season with the games, and obviously the final was the missing piece. It’s football,’ said the Dane, who is leaving Old Trafford as a free agent after three years.
‘For me now, I think people are lucky that we are where we are, not relegated with the season we’ve had. It’s a bit of luck, you have to acknowledge. Next season it has to be better, and I’m sure it will be. I’m looking forward to watching it from the sides.
‘I think you’ve seen progress but, of course, the results haven’t really shown that. One hundred per cent the results haven’t shown that.
‘I think the football we came from (Erik) Ten Hag to this is obviously going to take time to adapt, and obviously it’s been far below the standard of the club and the players here.
‘I think the players individually are very, very good players, and they should never be where we are in the table. It’s up to them to turn around but, yeah, I’m confident they’ll be a very different team next season, I’m sure.’
Eriksen believes that United are also lucky that the fans have stayed loyal at times when they could easily have turned against the team.
‘There’s been so many games this season where they could have caused a lot of chaos where we’ve been disappointed with our football. The fans, I think to our surprise, really have supported us,’ he added.
‘Obviously, there’s been games where it’s been not good enough, but they’ve really been supportive, and away especially they’ve been even more on their toes and even in the worst times. The club is happy to have those supporters who really support the players and the club no matter what.’
Eriksen insists he hasn’t decided on his next move yet, but was happy to end his time at United by scoring a late penalty to complete a 2-0 win over Villa.
‘I think it was the perfect ending to a bad season,’ he said. ‘I was happy to see that go in and finish off like I started, with a smile on my face.
‘I’ve really enjoyed my time. It’s a club I’ve always looked up to – the club size and everything around it. I’ve loved the pressure, loved the style of play with the different managers and the people at the club.
‘I mean, they’ve taken really good care of me and my family, so in that sense I’ve had three very, very good years. Obviously it’s been a lot of ups and downs in football, but I think in general I’ve had a special time.
‘First of all there’s a bit of a holiday and national team. Then after we’ll see where next season starts, but at the moment there’s nothing (lined up). There are options.’