‘FA Cup win will make Man U hungrier’

MANCHESTER UNITED can use an FA Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley today as the perfect platform for a strong start to next season on the back of a successful end to this one, the club’s talented forward Marcus Rashford has said.

The 20- year- old England international believes a record- equalling 13th FA Cup triumph today would provide the team with a huge morale boost after they finished a distant second to Manchester City without really mounting a title challenge.

“It’s got massive importance for us,” Rashford told United’s website http://www. manutd.com.

“Finishing the season off with a trophy is always good and would put us in good spirits for next season.

“I think the most important thing is winning that trophy to put us in good stead and, mentally, I always say you don’t want to go a season without winning something.

“That’s my determination – to try to win something each year. Hopefully, we can get one this year.”

Rashford has won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League trophies at United but the speedy forward is hungry for more for himself and the club: “I think the first trophy sets you off. When you win the first one, the hunger and determination goes up to a level you initially didn’t think it could reach.

“Now I’m always hungry for it – just the results and the trophies.”

Rashford, however, is bracing for a tough test from Chelsea, who are trying to salvage their season after a fifth- placed league finish ended their hopes of playing Champions League football next season.

“Chelsea are a very good team with a lot of quality players. On the day, they can cause problems for anyone, for the very best teams.

“We have to approach the game with the correct mentality,” he said.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game and we have got to be ready to fight.”

After the season concludes, Rashford will compete in his first World Cup campaign after being named in England manager Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad.

Meanwhile United manager José Mourinho has insisted the sometimes bitter feud between himself and Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte has ended ahead of today’s showdown.

The pair have been involved in a war of words since the 2016-17 season, when Mourinho criticised Conte for celebrating wildly after Chelsea’s 4-0 win over United, while the Italian accused his Portuguese rival of being obsessed with the Blues.

The feud continued into this season as Mourinho labelled the Italian’s touchline manner as clown- like and alluded to a match-fixing allegation against the former Juventus boss, which he was cleared of in Italy.

Conte, in turn, described former Chelsea manager Mourinho as a “little man” and “a fake”.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. He stretched out (to shake hands), I stretched out. We got bored,” Mourinho told Portuguese news outlet Record.

“After the game in Manchester, I invited him to come to my office. We talked. Nothing’s wrong.”

Mourinho previously managed Chelsea for five seasons across two stints.

United midfielder Scott McTominay says the team will be gunning to clinch the trophy as a tribute for former boss Alex Ferguson, who is recovering after undergoing surgery for a brain haemorrhage earlier this month. – Reuters