Why United Deserve This Day At Wembley

When Jose Mourinho was installed as Manchester United manager, he was unequivocal. "I want everything," he told the footballing world and, thus far, he has remained completely true to his word.

He never wants to short-change the supporters and always picks strong sides. Even with a 3-0 lead to take to Saint-Etienne in the Europa League in midweek, he still started the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mourinho wants to maintain a winning mentality, no matter how taxing the schedule becomes.

It is the clear the boss believes it is his duty to bring silverware to this huge club and because he felt the Community Shield was more of a testament to Louis van Gaal for winning the FA Cup, this trophy is the first one he will have targeted. You can imagine the date of today's EFL Cup final, Sunday 26 February 2017, was circled in his freshly-opened Manchester United diary. In red pen, of course.

Mourinho is a winner and his team thoroughly deserve a place opposite Southampton at Wembley on the back of the manager's refreshing attitude. When sections of the media were hoping the Reds came a cropper at Northampton Town in September, on the back of successive defeats to Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford, a convincing 3-1 victory was instead recorded on the road.

Neighbours City had already won in the Premier League at Old Trafford, and everywhere else for that matter, when the fourth-round draw was made. Juan Mata's winner clinched a deserved triumph as a packed house roared the home side on to what seemed an important psychological victory. Pep Guardiola had opted to make nine changes to his XI and the holders crashed out, leaving the path to Wembley a little clearer already.

Next up in the cup were West Ham United, who returned to the Theatre of Dreams just a few days after securing a battling 1-1 draw there in the Premier League. Buoyed by that result, Slaven Bilic's men had designs on adding the Reds to the scalp of Chelsea they had achieved in the previous round. Although ex-Reds striker Ashley Fletcher levelled the score for half-time, the Hammers were this time swept aside 4-1 with a swashbuckling display which demonstrated, if any further evidence was required, that United meant business in the competition.

Four Premier League sides contested the semi-finals and many bookmakers reckoned a United-Liverpool final was on the cards when the superpowers avoided each other in the draw. Mourinho's men focused on the job in hand and won 2-0 against Hull City at Old Trafford before succumbing to a rare loss in the second leg, even if the 2-1 reverse was enough to seal a 3-2 aggregate success.

Liverpool, however, were beaten 1-0 in both legs by the Saints and now have no Wembley trips or, barring a huge swing in the title race, any trophy to compete for this season. In contrast, United followers will relish another journey south to the national stadium and the opportunity to slug it out for more silverware. 

It is what Mourinho promised on his arrival - he would get the club challenging for honours and build a team with the right mindset to achieve this goal. The Reds remain in the Emirates FA Cup and Europa League and momentum continues to build, with confidence growing all the time.

Fans old enough to remember the 1976 FA Cup final defeat to the Saints, courtesy of a suspiciously offside-looking goal by the late Bobby Stokes, will refuse to take anything for granted but the stage is set and the chance for another memorable day out at Wembley beckons. 

In an age where some followers remarkably seem to actively decry rival clubs going out of competitions because it reduces fixture congestion, we should live in the now. It seems pointless in attempting to overthink a bigger picture or, as supporters often tend to do, keep looking forward to the future and the imponderables of what might happen. 

United have treated the competition with the respect it deserves and are in the EFL Cup final. Consequently, today can be a wonderful day for everybody associated with the club and it is an occasion to fully embrace.

The views expressed in this article are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United.

Credit: Manutd.com