Darmian Determined To Keep Hold Of The Cup

Matteo Darmian believes Manchester United will always compete to win every trophy available and insists there is a determination within the squad to successfully defend the League Cup this season.

The full-back helped the Reds to lift the trophy at Wembley in 2016/17 – one of three pieces of silverware the team won during Jose Mourinho’s prosperous first season in charge.

Speaking exclusively to United Review, the official match programme, the Italian feels there is ambition in the dressing room to go all the way again to claim the first domestic prize on offer this term.

“I think it’s always difficult to defend a title, but we will try,” he declared. “We want to win every trophy. When we are on the pitch, we try to win every game, and that’s our main mentality.”

Darmian, who has started two games so far this season, could feature as United enter the competition - now known as the Carabao Cup - with Wednesday's third-round tie against Championship side Burton Albion at Old Trafford.

When asked if it’s always important to get a home draw in domestic cup competitions, he said: “Yes, of course, to play at home is always important and good. But every game is different and every game is difficult, so we have to be ready, we have to prepare well for the game and we have to win.”

The tie against Nigel Clough’s Burton falls in the middle of a busy spell of seven games in the space of 22 days in three different competitions for Mourinho’s men.

But confidence is high after an impressive start to the season – including convincing home wins against FC Basel and Everton respectively in the last two games – and Darmian emphasised the importance of every member of the squad being ready to play their part during the hectic schedule to maintain the momentum.

“We have a very good squad, 25 very good players, so every player is important, especially when we have seven games in 22 days,” he said. “So everyone has to be ready, everyone will be ready. When the manager gives us the chance, we have to take it.

“Every time I’m on the pitch, I try to do my best and try to help the team to achieve victory. That’s my mentality: to work hard during the week, so I’m ready if the manager gives me an opportunity.

“We’ve started very well, we are playing very well, so I hope we can continue. To do that, we need to work hard and that’s it, trying to win every game is not easy but we are ready for that challenge.”

The Reds began last season’s journey to success in the League Cup by beating lower-division opponents with a 3-1 win at League One side Northampton before going on to win the competition for a fifth time – an achievement which Darmian felt was important for the squad and acted as a springboard for more success in the UEFA Europa League.

“Of course, to win a trophy is always important, because it’s a very good feeling and helps give confidence to continue working hard and reaching our objectives,” said the defender. “I think it gave us more confidence and it was good to win a trophy.”

The club’s first League Cup triumph since 2010 was accomplished by virtue of a 3-2 victory over Southampton in a thrilling final as Zlatan Ibrahimovic popped up with a late winner after the Reds had been pegged back having led 2-0.

Darmian gave his thoughts on a memorable occasion at the national stadium and hopes there will be more celebrations to come in 2017/18.

“It was an incredible match, a very crazy game. But at the end, we won and it was very good, a great match. When we won, it was a good feeling for us, for everyone, for the fans, for the club, so we want to reach our objective and win more trophies this season.”