Despite winning the EFL Cup and reaching the Europa League final, in many ways, it's very hard to summarise Manchester United's season.

While the style of play has certainly improved under new manager Jose Mourinho compared to Louis van Gaal, they will finish the Premier League campaign in sixth and at least 21 points behind champions Chelsea.

United have created lots of chances in the vast majority of their games this year, but a failure convert these means their season will largely be defined by the several draws at Old Trafford.

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Despite their stuttering league form, which included arguably the least impactful 25-match unbeaten run in recent memory, Mourinho's men have a chance to turn an average season into a brilliant one, by winning the Europa League final.

A win over Dutch giants Ajax on Wednesday will put the Red Devils straight into the next year's Champions League group stage, bypassing the qualification rounds, but there's set to be consequences for the "Special One" if their night in Stockholm ends in defeat.

What happens if United don't win the Europa League?

Upon arriving at United, Mourinho signalled his intent with the marquee signings of Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, for £89.3 million world-record fee.

Officials at the club firmly believed that they would challenge for the title and, at the very least, finish in the top four, but that hasn't turned out to be the case.

Man Utd were preparing to give the Portuguese boss a contract extension and pay rise on the initial four-year deal he signed last summer, but this now hinges on what happens next week.

The Mirror has reported that Man United will axe their plan to open talks with Mourinho about prolonging his stay at the Theatre of Dreams if his team fail to win the Europa League.

The club was planning to offer the 54-year-old, who is already the world's highest-paid manager alongisde Pep Guardiola on a whopping £15 million-a-year, a two-year extension.

However, United's owners are well aware that a failure to qualify for the Champions League will generate revenue losses of more than £50 million, due to the terms of their kit manufacturing deal with Adidas.

Could Mourinho get the sack?

As a result of the EFL Cup triumph in February, Mourinho became the only manager in Man Utd history to win a trophy in his first season, so there's little to no likelihood of him being dismissed over the summer, as some reports have suggested.

That said, results, particularly at home to so-called lesser opposition, in addition to the recent approach in away games against rivals, must surely change for the 13-time Premier League winners to become serious title challengers once again.

Mourinho should be wary that United wanted to offer Van Gaal a 12-month extension in late 2015, following the Dutchman's top-four finish in 2014-15.

However, when his side were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage and began to struggle domestically, that plan was ditched and LvG was sacked, despite winning the FA Cup.

What do YOU make of Mourinho's first season at Man Utd? Can he turn them into title challengers next year? Leave YOUR opinion in the comments box below!