Identity was the buzzword of Ruben Amorim's first interview as Manchester United head coach, conducted on the Old Trafford touchline.

From the Old Trafford touchline, however, Amorim has so far not seen much of the identity he craved. Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion was another stark reminder of the sheer size of the challenge he and his coaching staff are facing.

For all of the positivity that was generated on the back of their impressive away performances against Liverpool and Arsenal, their back-to-back home games against Brighton and Southampton, despite United beating the latter, have put into context just how big a mess the Reds currently find themselves in.

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Four defeats in six have dented any hopes United had of resurrecting a push for European qualification under Amorim. United are currently 13th in the standings, 12 points shy of the top four and 11 points behind Chelsea in sixth.

If United, who are continuing to battle against the constraints of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules [PSR], are going to rebuild Amorim's squad this summer with a sense of aggression, they will need to have as big a budget available to them as possible, with the Champions League offering the best revenue stream.

United have an alternative route back into Europe's premier club competition via the Europa League. Currently seventh in the league phase standings, United are on course to qualify for the last-16. However, with two games still to play, nothing can be guaranteed.

Facing Rangers at Old Trafford on Thursday night and then Romanian side FCSB in Bucharest the following week, United's Europa League fate is in their own hands. Two negative results could see them head into the lottery of the play-off round, adding two more fixtures to an already crammed schedule, or send them crashing out of Europe completely.

Given Amorim has consistently banged the drum about the importance of getting time on the training ground, the outcome of the upcoming clashes with Rangers and FCSB will dictate just how much training time he has with his players in the coming weeks. The distraction of a two-legged play-off tie in February will not be welcomed.

With both a trophy and Champions League qualification the prizes on offer in the Europa League, United's and Amorim's focus should become this competition. Amorim, understandably, has made it crystal clear that he will not change his approach for the benefit of securing short-term results, admitting after the defeat to Brighton that everyone will have to continue to "suffer".

But how much suffering can United tolerate alongside their quest for results? The Europa League offers their only hope of salvaging something from what is turning out to be another disastrous campaign, meaning Amorim may have to sacrifice some of his principles to keep the club's European dream alive.

Damaging results against Rangers and FCSB could result in United crashing out of Europe altogether. Amorim simply cannot afford for that to happen, meaning he might have to abandon his key principles.