Wayne Rooney pulled no punches when he compared Manchester United’s season to that of Tottenham’s after lifting the Europa League trophy on Wednesday night, having secured the club’s second major cup win of the season and a third trophy in total.

Tottenham mounted a strong second half of the Premier League season to push eventual champions Chelsea, and attracted plenty of plaudits along the way as their attacking-based football under Mauricio Pochettino caught the eye. Spurs finished second in the table, four places and 17 points ahead of United, but both will be in the Champions League next season.

United will join Chelsea, Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool at Europe’s top table – providing the Merseyside outfit come through a play-off in August – after collecting the Europa League winners’ spot, and Rooney believes that this coupled with the League Cup success means that United’s season has proven a lot more successful that the one at White Hart Lane.

Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Breakthrough goal - 2002 Five days before his 17th birthday, Wayne Rooney scored a wonder goal against Arsenal in 2002 as the world realised his talent. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Switch to United - 2004 A £25.6m fee was soon agreed with Manchester United - despite interest from Newcastle - as Rooney switched Goodison Park for Old Trafford in 2004. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures On the international stage - 2004 It got better for the powerful striker when he scored four goals in as many matches at Euro 2004. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures The stunning goals continue - 2005 It wasn't long before Rooney had become a mainstay in Sir Alex Ferguson's United side, typified by his olley against Newcastle at Old Trafford. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures The red mist descends - 2006 Always a cantankerous player, Rooney's demons haunted him at the 2006 World Cup in Germany as he was sent off for a stamp against Portugal. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures First of many titles - 2007 Rooney had to wait until 2007 for his first taste of Premier League glory, scoring 14 goals as United lifted the title in 2008. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures European glory - 2008 A year later, Rooney was invaluable to Ferguson again as the north west outfit defeated Chelsea in Moscow on penalties to win the Champions League. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Controversy returns - 2010 As England struggled to a 0-0 draw against Algeria in South Africa, the former Everton striker told supporters exactly what he thought about them into camera. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures World Cup woe - 2012 Despite finally scoring for England at a World Cup in 2014, Rooney was unable to prevent a torrid group stage exit under Roy Hodgson in Brazil. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Contract talks - 2012 Rooney twice risked incurring the wrath of Ferguson during their time together, famously truning down a contract offer and threatening to leave until better terms were presented. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Success continues - 2013 In Ferguson's final season in charge, Rooney helped lift another Premier League title in 2013 alongside strike partner Robin van Persie. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Record breaker - 2015 In 2015, Rooney broke Sir Bobby Charlton's England goalscoring record with his 50th international goal from a penalty in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Switzerland. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Switch to midfield - 2016 As Rooney began to age, then-United manager Louis van Gaal switched Rooney into midfielder where he helped the club lift the FA Cup in the Dutchman's last game in charge. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Mourinho era begins - 2017 Rooney lifts the League Cup trophy, the first major success under Jose Mourinho. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Record breaker, again - 2017 Rooney became United's all-time top goalscorer, beating Sir Bobby Charlton's long-standing record, after a last-gasp equaliser at Stoke City Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures European triumph - 2017 Rooney comes on in the closing minutes as United beat Ajax 2-0 to win the Europa League. Getty Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Return to Goodison - 2017 Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring against Stoke at Goodison Park, his first goal after returning to Everton (AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Wayne Rooney's career in pictures Retirement from international football - 2017 The England captain hangs up his boots in September 2017. "Every time I was selected as a player or captain was a real privilege and I thank everyone who helped me," he said. "But I believe now is the time to bow out." Getty

“Look at Tottenham, they’ve had a fantastic season, finished second, with no trophies to show for it,” Rooney said after United’s 2-0 victory over Ajax in Stockholm. “We’re in the same position, in the Champions League, with two trophies.

“I think we all know how important it is for this club to be in the Champions League, so it’s a big win for us today, on both arguments. You can say it’s a trophy but also it’s a Champions League spot.”

Under Mourinho, United have attracted a fair share of criticism for his defence-first tactics, though the bigger problem has been attaining the same level of success that the club not only enjoyed but got used to under Sir Alex Ferguson. David Moyes failed to win anything other than the Community Shield, while Louis van Gaal didi manage to win last season’s FA Cup, only to drop out of the Champions League having worked hard the year before to get the club back among the best in Europe.

Rooney is under no illusion over which is more important, with the club needing to bring back that mentality of winning silverware on a regular basis, and Mourinho’s first year in charge has gone a long way to doing just that.

“We needed to win trophies and to be honest, over the last few years, if you would have said we’ve won four trophies in last two years, then, you would have thought ‘where are those trophies going to come from?’ but we’ve done that, we’ve managed to do that and I feel we’re progressing as a team and a club, and I’m sure there’ll be many more,” the United captain added.

“It’s great to win trophies. It’s what you play football for, to win trophies, I think to answer your question before, it’s right to say we want to qualify for the Champions League, but you know, you want to go try and win that trophy.”

That quest to win claim silverware season after season is certainly helped with a man of Mourinho’s calibre at the helm. The Portuguese has his critics, be it due to his negative tactics in big matches or his habit of stunting the growth of young academy players – whatever he may argue – but there is not questioning his track record. Wednesday’s victory brought with it the 20th major trophy of his managerial career, and Rooney hailed the impact that the former Chelsea boss has had on the team this season in getting back to the Champions League along with winning trophies at the same time.

Rooney believes United have the right man in charge to bring more success (Getty)

“That’s where this club belongs, where it needs to be, and I certainly believe they’ve got the right man to lead them to that,” Rooney said.

“I think he just knows. Having this season with him, I’ve seen how he works, [makes us] so hard to beat, I think it makes us so hard to beat, and hopes we’ll get a goal or two to win the game.

Rooney was a late substitution in the 2-0 victory over Ajax (Getty)

“We needed to win trophies and to be honest, over the last few years, if you would have said we’ve won four trophies in last two years, then, you would have thought ‘where are those trophies going to come from?’ but we’ve done that, we’ve managed to do that and I feel we’re progressing as a team and a club, and I’m sure there’ll be many more.”