Herrera hopes Manchester United don’t receive airtime in the Europa League

The Europa League may not be Manchester United’s biggest priority this year but Ander Herrera believes his side have an excellent chance of success – as long as they don’t rack up the air miles.

United’s failure to finish in the Premier League’s top four last year means they will once again play in Europe’s awkwardly scheduled second-tier competition on Thursday nights.

And given the presence of clubs such as Ukraine’s Zorya Luhansk and Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva – the latter of which is more than 3,000 miles away from Manchester –  in Friday’s group stage draw, Herrera is in no rush to visit any far-flung destinations.

“Honestly, I want the closest possible opponents,” said the midfielder. “When you travel for long trips sometimes you get more tired. I think there are some clubs from Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and I think they are the farthest. When I see the draw I would like the opponent to be as close as possible.

“But after that I don’t mind. If you want to win the competition you have to play against the best teams so it doesn’t matter if it is in the group or later on.”

Herrera faces a scrap for his United spot after Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini’s success in the centre of midfield in last week’s victory over Southampton.

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And though unglamorous away days may be just up ahead, the Spain international admits the chance to impress new boss Jose Mourinho in Europe is not one any squad member can pass up.

“The players want as many games as possible so we have the chance to play every Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday,” he added. “It is very important for us. Everyone is going to be important. We can play against big teams as well. I have the chance to play against my former team [Athletic Bilbao] and I think it is a very good competition.

“Last season another English club [Liverpool] lost the final against Sevilla. Then when you win the competition you have the chance to play in the Super Cup so everything is positive. There will be time for everyone in the squad and hopefully we can get as far as possible in the competition.”