Mata says United have high hopes for next season

Cape Town - Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata says the club's players have high hopes for next season after a relatively successful campaign which saw them pick up two trophies.

Despite finishing outside of the top four in the Premier League, United qualified for next season's Champions League with a 2-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam in the Europa League final, ensuring that manager Jose Mourinho picked up some silverware in his first year at the club.

It was the first time since 2008 that the club won two trophies in the same season.

Mata says that now is the time for a break, but the players will come back next season hoping for more success.

"We have high hopes for the next season, but now it's time to take a break, switch off from football and rest until the start of the pre-season training sessions," Mata said.

Following the terrorist attack in the city two days before the final, Mata understood that the atmosphere would be subdued, but said that the entire incident gave them more courage to try to win the game and "offer the title to the city".

"I'll never forget the reactions that we've seen all these days, everywhere in the city... and the ability of football to bring people together, to help, to contribute, beyond rivalries and tensions," the Spaniard wrote in his personal blog.