Mourinho won the competition on three occasions while in charge at Chelsea, and would become the first-ever United boss to win a trophy in his opening season if he can guide the Reds to victory over Southampton on Sunday.
Mourinho is raring to go ahead of the "special" clash, one which he says cannot come soon enough. “I just want to play, I can’t wait," he told MUTV. "I’m not nervous. I’ve had many years in football, many finals - I want to play.
“I want to win, I want to play, I want a challenge. I like finals and big games. I want to feel responsibility, big responsibility – that’s all.
“I'll go for dinner with all my assistants. We’re in a positive way, we’re together and we start now being together and focused on the game. It’s not one more game, it’s always a special match. Everything is normal – we train, we travel, we are ready."
Mourinho was quick to acknowledge the threat posed by Claude Puel's Southampton, but is keen not to let the final distract from the Reds' battle on all fronts.
“In this competition, Southampton have done amazingly well," he added. "We had a difficult run, we had to play three Premier League teams; we had West Ham at home, Hull in two legs, and Manchester City. It was phenomenal [for Southampton], they had two legs against Liverpool, Arsenal away, I think they had Crystal Palace at home [plus Sunderland]. It’s a phenomenal run, winning every game, not conceding. As a cup team, phenomenal.
“I think we have to find strength and motivation, even when the results are not good. We play against Bournemouth [after Wembley] and it doesn’t matter what happens in the final, we have to go to Old Trafford. If you want to finish in the top four or have a chance of that, we must beat Bournemouth. We must finish the final and then play Bournemouth. If you win, happiness always helps you for the next match.”
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