Sidney Sladen
Jose Mourinho has challenged his players to use the EFL cup to prove their winning mentality to him. Manchester United are all set to take on Southampton in the EFL cup final and Mourinho is eagerly waiting for his players to step up for the occasion.
Mourinho will lead United in a cup final for the first time since he has taken over and would set history if he manages to win the trophy. No Manchester United manager has ever won a trophy in their first season in charge of the club and Jose Mourinho will have a chance to change that when his team enters the field to face Southampton.
The Portuguese has already won the League cup thrice in his career and will be looking to win it for the 4th time. He earlier won it in 2004/05, 2006/07, and 2014/15 with Chelsea, and this game presents him a good chance to add to that tally.
It took Sir Matt Busby three seasons before he won the FA Cup in 1948 and another four before he won a first league title in 1952.
Ferguson took over in November 1986 but had to wait until 1990 to win the FA Cup. The first of his 13 Premier League didn’t arrive until 1993.
Jose Mourinho is hoping that the trophy can provide a platform for bigger and better things.
The Portuguese coach insists it is a good test of which of players will thrive under his management like Frank Lampard at Chelsea and Javier Zanetti at Inter.
Speaking ahead of the EFL cup final,
He said to MUTV: “I’ve found people in my career that, in spite of being super talented players, not naturally born winners or people ready to fight every day to win, and win and keep winning. Zanettis, Lampards – these guys you don’t find every day. But we have people who are showing to me that they want to win this match and this match is what matters now. I think when you have a taste of good things, you want to repeat. When you are used to winning and you don’t win, you miss it and you don’t accept it. You are always chasing for more success so it’s a good thing for them.”
Southampton meanwhile have not won a major trophy since the FA Cup in 1976. But Mourinho believes their 41-year wait should not mean they want victory more than United this weekend.
He added: “If they want it more than us, they win. So we have to be sure they don’t want it more than us. That’s the point. They want it a lot. Of course. But I don’t think they want it more than us. I think the best team on the pitch will win and it will not depend on motivations.”
A victory against Southampton would be a massive start for Manchester United in the Jose Mourinho era and it will serve as the beginning of greater things to come. Mourinho seems motivated to win the trophy and he has given the impression that the players want to win it too.
It sure is going to be a cracker of a final and only the determined will come out victorious.
