Valencia: Manchester United’s going for the treble

Antonio Valencia says there is belief that Manchester United can collect a treble this term after defeating Southampton in Sunday’s League Cup final.

The Ecuadorian, now a fully-fledged right-back in Stretford after joining as a winger in 2009, admits the 15-point gap behind Premier League leader Chelsea may be difficult to bridge, but wants to add winners’ medals in the FA Cup and Europa League to his haul by the end of May.

“This is the mentality that we have – that trophy has given us much confidence,” Valencia told The Telegraph’s James Ducker. “We are thinking about these three trophies. I think we can do it. We have to realise we are Manchester United and that we can go on to win these three trophies.

“We haven’t given up hope this year (of winning the title). We’ll still fight for the league this season but if we can’t do it this year then we go into next season and we will fight for the league.”

United takes on Rostov in the last 16 of the Europa League, and faces a tough task in travelling to Jose Mourinho’s former employer, Chelsea, in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 13.

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

It must be a markedly different feel around the Carrington camp than in recent years. Following Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2013 retirement, United has struggled to impose itself on the Premier League under the watch of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. Last season’s FA Cup victory under the latter’s management counts as the only major trophy plundered in the previous three seasons.

Now under Mourinho, the polarising figure who’s won 19 major titles after Sunday’s triumph, ambitions are revised.

“I think it’s the same atmosphere (now to when Ferguson was in charge),” Valencia continued. “We have that security of playing under a top manager. It’s something you can definitely say. They each have their own individual style but both of them are obviously fantastic managers.

“I think a lot has changed. The atmosphere – we play with more confidence, with more happiness, and with more responsibility. When you bring in new players, top-quality players, that changes the atmosphere of the team. I think we’re a lot happier. We still have that responsibility on our shoulders, but you could say a lot has changed.”

United, which Valencia said is trying to rediscover its “fear factor,” welcomes free-falling Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Saturday.