As Manchester United supporters pick themselves out of the rubble of a damning night in Bilbao, I would like to offer the glimmer of optimism this fanbase desperately needs.
There is no excusing United's season. It is embarrassing. The players, coaches and board are all culpable and are receiving the scrutiny they deserve.
It is going to sting for a while. But once the doom and gloom subsides, I believe we will realise the result is not as disastrous in the long run as it currently feels.
Ruben Amorim needs as much time on the training pitch as possible if he is going to adapt the hideous squad he inherited into a team capable of regularly winning football matches.