Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has taken a page out of the Eddie Howe playbook as the Carabao Cup final edges closer. Newcastle United are going full speed again into their Wembley preparations but the Red Devils must first overcome Barcelona in the Europa League.
Howe continued to bat away Carabao Cup final questions as Newcastle focused solely on Premier League clashes with West Ham United, Bournemouth and Liverpool this month. Now, Ten Hag has done the exact same thing as he insists his side are not yet thinking about their day at Wembley just yet.
"It's not about credit, it's about trophies," the Dutchman told reporters on Wednesday. "We have the opportunity [to win a trophy on Sunday], but the first focus point is always the next game and in that, we can't win a trophy this week.
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"We have to go from game to game as the focus, but especially, you have to keep in the same mindset that every day we want to give a better version of ourselves. When you are facing such big teams as Barcelona, you have to play your best, otherwise you don't have a chance.
"So, we want to get through, to get to the next round and we have to give the best performance from this season. We believe in it, we're looking forward to it, so it gives us a lot of energy."
While Ten Hag is somewhat distracted by Europe, Howe and his staff are now fully focused on bringing the Carabao Cup back to Tyneside this weekend. The Magpies will treat the final build-up in a similar way to a normal top flight clash.
Newcastle will only set off on the eve of the match in the capital and the club's team bus is set to be emblazoned with new crests for the transfer to Wembley. However, the squad will not be getting measured for suits and have opted against a visit to the tailors ahead of the big day.
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