Friday 27 January 2017 06:26, UK
Manchester United's first season under Jose Mourinho has not been straight forward and they were well below their best against Hull on Thursday night, but could EFL Cup glory provide a platform to build on?
Jose Mourinho has never been one to take the League Cup lightly. He won the competition three times during his two spells in charge of Chelsea, and he now has a shot at number four after Manchester United booked their place in the final with a 3-2 aggregate win over Hull.
Progress was not as simple as it might have been, with goals from Tom Huddlestone and Oumar Niasse pushing United all the way at the KCOM Stadium. But Mourinho had named something close to his strongest line-up despite the first-leg advantage, and it was fitting that record signing Paul Pogba was the scorer of the goal that sent them through.
"I have a special feeling for every competition," Mourinho said before the game. "Every club should enjoy being in big matches, in finals. It doesn't matter how many title the club has won before. It's Wembley, it's a title, it's an occasion for a demonstration of love for the club with 30 or 40 thousand fans travelling to London."
United's EFL Cup campaign has been a welcome distraction from their stuttering Premier League form. Mourinho's side face a fight to finish in the top four having fallen out of contention for the title, but beat Southampton at Wembley and they will head into the decisive months of the season with silverware already behind them.
The League Cup may not carry the same prestige as other competitions, but history shows why Mourinho values it so highly. In 2005, during his first season at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea went into the League Cup final against Liverpool having only won one of their previous four games, but with their 3-2 extra-time victory they secured Mourinho's first trophy in English football.
It galvanized the squad. For many players it was their first taste of silverware at Chelsea, and they duly embarked on a six-game winning streak which all but guaranteed the club's first league title in half a century. In the long-term, it set the tone for an unprecedented era of success for the club.
Ten years later, the League Cup became the first piece of silverware of Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea. A run of just three wins from their previous eight games did not bode particularly well before the final that year, but after a 2-0 win over Tottenham at Wembley, they surged to another Premier League title.
This year, Mourinho knows finishing the campaign with the Premier League title is all but out of reach regardless of what happens at Wembley, but his previous successes show victory over Cluade Puel's side could still provide a catalyst to finish the season strongly - and even lay the groundwork for future success.
United slipped 14 points off the summit with their draws against Liverpool and Stoke, but they are still only four points off the Champions League places. Cup glory and a top-four finish would represent a successful first season at Old Trafford for Mourinho, and Phil Neville, who won 10 major trophies as a player at United, thinks the first trophy is one of the most important.
"People try to play down this competition, but it should be their number one priority," he said on Sky Sports on Thursday night. "To actually win a trophy as a Manchester United manager or a Manchester United player when you have never experienced it, I don't think it should be underestimated."
United have bigger targets than the EFL Cup, but if Mourinho is to put his stamp on the club, he needs silverware sooner rather than later. A fourth League Cup win would be a big step in the right direction. History suggests it could take them on to bigger things.
