Valencia insists United are 100% ready for Wembley

Antonio Valencia insists the mental approach will be absolutely key for Manchester United in their EFL Cup final against Southampton.

Victory on Sunday over Saints at Wembley would be United’s fifth League Cup title and Valencia’s seventh trophy overall since joining the club from Wigan in 2009.

And the Ecuadorian insists United will have to be totally focused if they are to see off the Saints and claim a first trophy of Jose Mourinho’s reign.

“I’m 100 per cent up for it,” he said.

“You can never be just at 30 per cent. When you pull on the United shirt you have to be 100 per cent focused and ready. It’s all about being totally concentrated.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

“In such an important game as a final, you really need to be mentally strong and fully focused on the game, even more so when it’s at a fantastic stadium like Wembley, with all its history. Let’s hope that’s how it is in this final and we’re all concentrating on our jobs and we can manage to win the cup.

“We have to put all the build-up, photos and interviews completely out of our minds, and focus on the task in hand. We’ve got a trophy up for grabs here and know just how important that is for the supporters. We can’t approach the game in a relaxed mood; we have to go out, put in a shift and fight hard, and hope that throughout the 90 minutes, we’re in control of the game and can eventually lift the cup.”