Ander: We will bounce back

A tournament we want to win

Herrera experienced Europa League heartbreak when his Athletic Club side lost the final to Atletico Madrid back in 2012. He is determined to go all the with United this time round: "Man United have never won this competition so we have that chance. We play for the most successful club in England so we want to keep winning trophies."

Ander: We will bounce back

Ander Herrera admitted earlier that it had been a very tough weekend after the derby defeat, saying: "It is a game your life depends on for the next week." He added: "We have the chance to fix it tomorrow. We want to do it, we want to show the fans we are here to win every game."

Counting down to matchday

We popped inside for a further look around De Kuip after the press conference.

De Kuip in full view

Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium was looking good earlier tonight as the sun shone down.

Jones sidelined for a month

One bit of injury news came at the end of Mourinho's press conference when he confirmed Phil Jones has suffered a medial knee ligament injury and will be out for around four weeks. 

Stadium capacity reduced

Mourinho says he feels "sorry" that part of the stadium will be closed tomorrow due to previous crowd trouble in a match against Roma last February. "It is a consequence of something negative, but there is no player or manager that wants to play in an empty stadium. We are lucky that the stadium is not empty, it is half of it."

Herrera ready for battle

Ander Herrera is now speaking to the media and hopes to play his play on Thursday night after impressing in the second half against Manchester City: "I think everyone is ready, everyone is fit so if the manager decides to change the team, it's a good chance for everyone."

Jose wants to win

Although Mourinho admitted he and his players would, of course, much prefer to be in the Champions League group stages, he insists United will do their best in this competition. "We have to look at it with respect. I think we want to do well in the competition and for a club of our dimension to do well is not to be out in the group phase. Tomorrow is an important match for us."

Rojo set for start

With Luke Shaw in Manchester, Mourinho revealed that Marcos Rojo will be given his chance to shine. "My option in the last four games in the Premier League was Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke and I think it is time for Marcos to play so it was a simple decision. Marcos is a very good player who is working really well and hard."

Freshening things up

The manager added that Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw had also been given a break. "In the positions where I have other solutions, it means I can have fresh players for this game and then fresh players for the game on Sunday. I'll try to have a strong team here and a strong team for Sunday. He [Wayne] took it professionally, like the other players."

Wayne and others rested

Mourinho was asked why Wayne Rooney has not travelled and he explained that he wanted to give his captain a little break, given another game follows at lunchtime on Sunday. "Wayne has played every game since the start of the season. He has also played 90 minutes for England and he played 90 minutes last weekend and I want him to be fresh for the next match. In the position he plays I have lots of solutions."

Jose meets the media

A large number of English and Dutch journalists are gathered in the press conference room at De Kuip listening to Jose Mourinho as he looks ahead to tomorrow's game.

Feyenoord set for 'big challenge'

Feyenoord have held their pre-match press conference and their manager, former Arsenal and Barcelona star Giovanni van Bronckhorst, said: "It's a very big game for us against one of the biggest teams in the world. It's a big challenge."

Landing in the Netherlands

This was the view from the team plane as we came into land shortly before 17:00 local time and on our drive to the press conference we could see the stadium in the distance (you'll be able to spot the tall floodlights).

We're on our way to Rotterdam!

Reds to take flight

The Reds are due to leave Manchester Airport soon for the Netherlands - read our story on the travelling squad as Jose Mourinho gives himself plenty of options for tomorrow's encounter.

Squad for Rotterdam announced

We can reveal the travelling 20-man party for the Europa League clash against Feyenoord: De Gea, Romero, Johnstone; Darmian, Bailly, Blind, Fosu-Mensah, Rojo, Smalling; Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Memphis, Pogba, Schneiderlin, Young; Ibrahimovic, Martial, Rashford.

Rooney and Crolla reunited

We told you earlier that boxer and United fan Anthony Crolla was visiting the Aon Training Complex and he spent time catching up with good friend Wayne Rooney before the session. Anthony is feeling confident about tomorrow's match and is predicting a 2-0 win to United.

Feyenoord in form

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side have been in top form so far this season, winning their opening five league matches. They have a familiar face in their squad in former Liverpool man Dirk Kuyt, who spent six seasons at Anfield. Van Bronckhorst will address the press later on, before Mourinho's briefing. We'll bring you news from that when we have it.

Special guest at training

Boxer and United fan Anthony Crolla was one of those watching training this morning. A number of the players popped over to see him as they walked out at the Aon Training Complex, including Ashley Young and Michael Carrick.

Reds getting ready

The scene at the Aon Training Complex...

23 in training

A group of 23 trained in front of the media this morning: De Gea, Romero, Rojo, Bailly, Blind, Smalling, Shaw, Darmian, Valencia, Fosu-Mensah, Carrick, Fellaini, Pogba, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Memphis, Young, Martial, Rashford, Rooney, Ibrahimovic.

Third meeting with Feyenoord

This will be the third meeting between United and Feyenoord following two matches in the group stages of the 1997/98 Champions League. United have won seven (including two victories over Thursday's opponents), drawn three and lost four previous matches against Dutch clubs.

Mourinho addresses the press

Jose Mourinho will hold his pre-match press conference when we land in Rotterdam. Look out for live updates from around 16:30 BST.

Wednesday 14 September

Hello and welcome to our live blog ahead of United's opening Europa League match against Feyenoord. I'm Gemma Thompson and I'll be flying to Rotterdam later today with Jose Mourinho and his squad after I've covered training at the Aon Training Complex. Make sure you keep a close eye on this blog for the next two days as we bring you team news and the best build-up to the Group A clash.