Christian Eriksen has claimed Manchester United were fortunate to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.

The 13-time Premier League champions finished 15th with just 42 points.

It marked their lowest finish in the competition, and their lowest points tally.

The Red Devils, who replaced Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim in November, did reach the Europa League final, but a hugely underwhelming campaign was capped off by a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.

United at least signed off on a winning note, beating Aston Villa 2-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Eriksen marking his final United game with a goal from the penalty spot, but the midfielder was quick to stress how fortunate the Red Devils were not to get dragged into a relegation scrap.

“People are lucky that we are where we are, not relegated with the team, with the season we’ve had,” Eriksen said.

The Denmark international also stated that the unwavering support from the fans came as a surprise to the team.

He added: “There’s been so many games this season where they could have caused a lot of chaos, where they would have been disappointed with our football. But the fans, to our surprise, have really supported us.

“At home there’s been games where it’s not been good enough, but they’ve really been supportive and away, especially, they’ve been even more on their toes, even in the worst times. The club is happy to have those who really support the players and the club no matter what.”

Amorim has won only seven league games at United. In fact, since the Portuguese’s first weekend in charge, only four teams in the competition collected fewer victories than the Red Devils – Spurs (six), Leicester City (four), Ipswich Town (three) and Southampton (one).

Eriksen, though, has no doubt that Amorim is the right coach to take United forward.

“Next season it has to be better and I’m sure it will be,” he added.

“You’ve seen progress. The results haven’t really shown that – 100% the results haven’t shown that. The football we [play now] and coming from under Ten Hag is going to take time to adapt.

“The players individually are very good and they should never be where we are in the table. It’s up to them to turn around but I’m confident they’ll be a very different team next season.”