Conference League win would bring a guarantee

The Hammers are facing up to the cold, hard reality of qualifying for the Europa Conference League next season.

The Irons crashed out of the Europa League at the semi-final stage on Thursday night, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in a febrile atmosphere in Germany.

It means that David Moyes’ side cannot mathematically qualify for the Champions League via their Premier League position and even qualification for the Europa League looks difficult.

Manchester United are currently sixth with 58 points; the Hammers are seventh with 52 points, although they do have a game in hand.

United play Brighton and Crystal Palace in their final two games, while the Irons are set to play Norwich, Manchester City, and Brighton.

If the Hammers are to leapfrog Ralf Rangnick’s side, they will likely need to win every game and hope United lose both of theirs.

Finishing seventh would mean qualification for the Conference League and that is a potential route back into the Europa League.

Winning the tournament would mean qualification to the Europa League group stage.

That makes sense, given the hierarchy of tournaments, with the winner of the Europa League qualifying for the Champions League, and the winner of the Conference League qualifying for the Europa League.