Winning the League Cup has become something of a hobby for Jose Mourinho. Frequently referred to as the beginning of his dominance during his first spell at Chelsea, the minnow of the English domestic trophies is seen as a signal of intent. It is meant to breed a winning spirit, a silverware-hungry attitude that spreads across the squad.

Another League Cup final – now the EFL Cup – awaits Mourinho. Facing Southampton, who overcame Liverpool in two semi-final legs to get to Wembley, Manchester United could be about to win yet another trophy. Another trophy for their enormous trophy cabinet, another trophy to add to Mourinho’s illustrious CV.

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The EFL Cup is a competition elevated in importance by the teams who remain in it and degraded by those eliminated. Supposedly inferior the FA Cup, the timing of the EFL Cup is its greatest positive. Able to notch a trophy before even the beginning of March and with the majority of matches played while the squads are still relatively fresh in the first half of the season, it is a way to ‘bank’ some success with the media, the fans and your superiors.

For all those reasons it makes sense. Aside from the perception of the trophy, it is a better competition to invest squad resources in than the FA Cup. While the FA Cup can cause fixture congestion in the latter stages of the season and follow on from tiring European adventures, the EFL Cup is always over and done with by this time of year. Convenient for the teams competing on multiple fronts, as Manchester United are.

All of the people involved with Manchester United will be delighted that their new, highly decorated manager could be lifting a trophy. Should they win it, however, it will not be enough by itself. Failure to finish in the top four, FA Cup elimination and disappointment at some point in the next few rounds of the Europa League could not be compensated for by a comparatively minor domestic trophy.

The truth is, Manchester United have not had to do much to get to the final. Favourable draws have meant that their path has involved Northampton Town, West Ham, Hull and a severely weakened Manchester City side. Nothing extraordinary in all of that, most would say, but, as the old cliché goes, you can only beat what’s put in front of you. Hardly their fault they faced such opposition.

They have done that, just as Mourinho’s sides have been renowned for through his managerial career. Winning is the bread and butter for Mourinho and this run to the EFL Cup final epitomises him as a manager, if you can win a trophy, why wouldn’t you?

Lifting the trophy on Sunday could be the building blocks for a mini-dynasty under Mourinho at Old Trafford. Their path to the final, however, does not suggest anything quite as grand. It shows Mourinho has not changed, he is still hungry for trophies, he will still try to win absolutely everything, but this is as much a case of calming any doubters that Mourinho will bring success to Manchester United.

The rest of the Premier League are already wary of Manchester United’s threat for the remainder of this campaign and the start of next, the outcome of Sunday’s final is not going to influence that in either direction.

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