Manchester United enter the unchartered waters of the Europa League tomorrow night when they take on Dutch giants Ajax. With the race for the Premier League title Sir Alex Ferguson’s top priority, he is mulling over a number of dilemmas as he takes his side to Amsterdam. Here MEN Sport’s James Robson considers the big issues facing the United manager as he adjusts to life outside of the Champions League spotlight.

How seriously should United take it?

Ferguson has little or no excuse not to give the Europa League a real go.

Out of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup, United only have two trophies to focus on. And while the Premier League is the priority, Europe’s secondary competition deserves to be treated with respect.

It is the one trophy Ferguson hasn’t won at United – and Champions League failure at the group stage will be long-forgotten if the Scot leads his side to a glamour European final at the end of the season.

The Europa League – or UEFA Cup – has been given a rough ride in the age of the Champions League.

The poor relation, it struggles to shake off the stigma of ‘Thursday night, Channel Five’.

By no means should it be allowed to get in the way of United’s domestic challenge – but the momentum of a cup run can aid the bid for a 20th title.

And with City still leading the way in the Premier League, Ferguson could be grateful of any trophy he can get come the end of the season.

Is David de Gea De man?

The Spanish under-21 international’s errant clearance against Benfica proved to be a pivotal point in United’s Champions League campaign. It led to the Portuguese
side scoring a crucial equaliser that meant the Premier League champions could not afford to lose their final group game in Basle.

De Gea has experience in the Europa League having won the competition with Atletico Madrid, but he is still finding his way after his £18m move to Old Trafford last summer.

Injury to Anders Lindegaard has presented the 21-year-old with the opportunity to establish himself as No1 with encouraging signs in the recent games with Chelsea and Liverpool.

Ferguson may be tempted to give Ben Amos some European action, but he will know De Gea needs to build on the momentum of some of his best performances at the club.

Are the kids all right?

Roy Keane’s criticism was as uncompromising as his tackling – but absolutely spot on.

After the humiliation of their group stage elimination, the former United captain didn’t hold back.

Keane turned his guns on Fergie’s latest generation of starlets, saying: “People have talked about the young players – you’ve had Jones, Smalling, Young coming in, everybody building them up, but they’ve got a lot to do, it’s a reality check for some. I’d be getting hold of some of those lads, saying, ‘You’d better buck up your ideas’.”

As impressive as the youngsters have been in the Premier League, they were caught desperately short in Europe, failing to qualify from what was a gift of a group that included Benfica, Basle and Romanian minnows Otelul Galati.

Ferguson will need those players for the title run-in with City and Tottenham, but the Europa League will also provide them with the perfect opportunity to gain more experience on the continent. Experience that will be vitally important if they are to avoid repeating the mistakes of this season when they return to the Champions League next term.

Do the old timers need a break?

Paul Scholes answered United’s SOS by stepping out of retirement, while Ryan Giggs remains a crucial member of the squad in the year that he turns 39.

And Rio Ferdinand is still the defensive lynchpin required for the biggest occasions – and he will be vital for the crunch title clashes at Tottenham and City between now and the end of the season.

But Ferguson can afford to rest the ageing limbs of his most experienced trio when Thursday nights come around.

There is little point in putting extra strain on Ferdinand’s back on flights to Europe, while foreign trips will be one of the few things Scholes didn’t miss when he decided to hang his boots up at the end of last season.

And even with his incredible powers of longevity Giggs would struggle to play twice a week at this stage of his career.

With United’s injury list beginning to clear up, Ferguson has enough strength in depth to give his Dads Army the night off.

Time to turn on the Tom Tom?

Paul Scholes’ nickname on the training ground is ‘SatNav’ because of the incredible accuracy of his passing.

And United needed the veteran midfielder to step out of retirement because they’ve been robbed of their ‘Tom Tom’ for much of the season.

Tom Cleverley’s performances at the start of the campaign were the highlight of United’s season so far. And it says everything about the 22-year-old’s influence that he has been so sorely missed despite making only six appearances this term.

He is finally back from foot and ankle injuries and just in time for the title run-in.

But he is also desperately short of match practice, which is why tomorrow’s visit to Amsterdam is the ideal opportunity to hand him his first team return before the bigger challenges to come.

Stick with the Deadly Duo?

The temptation will be to give Javier Hernandez or Dimitar Berbatov a rare start – but Danny Welbeck has established himself as the first-choice partner for Wayne Rooney and the strike pair are developing a better understanding with every game.

Their link-up play had Liverpool’s defence chasing shadows last weekend and it will be intriguing to see how they combine on the European stage.

Welbeck has exceeded all expectations by how quickly he has adjusted to life in United’s first team and now looks a certainty to make this summer’s European Championships.

The fortunes of England won’t be paramount in Ferguson’s thoughts, but whoever takes over from Fabio Capello will be grateful for the ready-made strike force heading
its way from Old Trafford.