Erik ten Hag has urged his Manchester United players not to become "lazy" after their Carabao Cup final victory against Newcastle - just like Sir Alex Ferguson used to do.
The Red Devils secured their first trophy since May 2017 by beating the Magpies 2-0 at Wembley on Sunday. Goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were enough for Man Utd to see off Newcastle in a tight game between the two Premier League clubs.
Man Utd are also in contention to win the Europa League, the FA Cup and the Premier League title this season. A top-four finish and silverware would have been viewed as a success for Ten Hag at the beginning of the season, but the Dutchman wants more.
"It shows something, silverware, that you are on a good pathway, you are in a good direction," said Ten Hag during his post-match interview. "It is one cup and it is February, but it shows we are in the right direction. This has to be the inspiration, it has to be the motivation to keep going, to continue on this pathway and to improve.
"OK, be happy for 24 hours but not satisfied because satisfaction, that leads to laziness and when you become lazy, you don’t win any more games and you can’t win trophies."
Man Utd opened the scoring on Sunday through Casemiro's header, as the Brazilian nodded in an irresistible free kick from Luke Shaw. The goal was referred to the video assistant referee (VAR) for offside, but referee David Coote's initial call was upheld.
Rashford then made it 2-0 to Ten Hag's side in the 39th minute. The England international's goal was initially awarded to Sven Botman as an own goal, but that decision has since been overturned. It was Rashford's first ever goal in a major final.
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Memorably, Ferguson would give his stars the so-called 'hairdryer' treatment if they started slacking off. During an interview with The Athletic last year, former Man Utd coach Mick Clegg revealed Ferguson wanted to beat Brazilian star Anderson with a stick.
Clegg recalled, "I used to have a stick and I said to Alex Ferguson very early on, If he carries on, I'm going to hit him with my bleeding stick.
"Fergie couldn't believe it. 'Don't you dare. He cost me a lot of money. You can't be hitting one of my players, are you mad?' Then, six weeks later, Fergie came to find me. 'Where's that bloody stick?', he said. 'Give me that stick. I want to hit him'."
Ten Hag wants his players to build on their Carabao Cup success. He added: "We are not only hoping, but to know that it is worth to invest, to know that it’s worth to suffer and to sacrifice and to know you have to give every day your best to celebrate.
"It’s all about that, it’s about glory and honour and if you want to prove something, if you want to win something, you have to do it otherwise you don’t get it because no-one is bringing something in top football."
