I’m sure what they are doing in the EPL is just to minimize collateral damage as they sure know they are out of it and isn’t getting anything from the league this season. They just need to climb to a some worth comfortable spot while any hopes of getting a trophy this season, they would take that up with the Europa.
But they're still playing with the same players, so it's hard to see them do better in another competition just because they want to win something. Don't you think it will affect their confidence if the coach or board tells them to just play whatever in the league, but they have to do well in the Europa League? Because it shows there's a high chance most of them will be sold in the next window. I can't imagine that if the board truly thinks like that, they'll keep the players they have right now.
I guess you could say that professional players need to do that because they get paid, but I bet it's not as easy as accepting it and turning up at every match after that. Anyway, it's not like United is predictable, to begin with.