As the Carabao Cup made its way down the line of victorious Manchester United players in the Wembley Royal Box, there was a roar from the 33,000 travelling fans each time it was hoisted anew into the air.
But towards the end of the procession, the din rose to new levels. Every player had been greeted with a raucous cheer, but this time the decibel levels went up. It was the loudest roar of them all and it was reserved for the manager.
There are popular players in this squad. Marcus Rashford's relationship with fans has been restored this season. They love the passion of Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro and the quality of Raphael Varane.
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It is Erik ten Hag, however, who is the closest to the hearts of those United fans. They love him and it is the Dutchman they credit for the revolution taking place at Old Trafford. Judging by his comments in his post-match press conference yesterday, it is reciprocal. "I just love United," he said.
There are some world-class players in this team, but they've been knitted together by a manager who has entered that bracket this season. Ten Hag was the populist choice a year ago with United's army of online fans, but there were also plenty who knew very little about the Ajax manager, beyond his CV in Amsterdam.
On one of the early trains to the capital on Sunday morning, a group of matchgoers talked in revered tones about their manager, but also admitted they weren't sure about him when he was appointed, because they just didn't know much about him. They know enough now.
Has a United manager been this popular since Sir Alex Ferguson? Jose Mourinho was lauded at times but his football didn't win everyone over and he wasn't always a natural fit for the role. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was adored because of what he achieved as a player, but he didn't have the respect as a manager.
A theme of the last decade of underachievement has been the players being at the centre of the club, rather than the manager. Ten Hag has changed that. Ferguson was the most important employee at United and now Ten Hag is too.
It was fitting the pair dined together last week and that Ten Hag invited Ferguson into the dressing room after the game, because there are undoubted similarities between the two in terms of the way they rule the dressing room.
Speak to players about their manager and the same words are cropping up again and again. When they're asked what it is about Ten Hag that is proving such a potent combination at Old Trafford, 'discipline' is almost always one of the first adjectives used.
He has set out his 'rules' to players regularly and they know the consequences for breaching them. Alejandro Garnacho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford have all found that out this season. The power in this dressing room resides with the manager and not the players, which is how it was under Ferguson, but not always the case in the years that have followed.
The other description used regularly by players is 'details'. Varane mentioned it in the run-up to Sunday's final and Weghorst said it after the game. Others close to the dressing room have marvelled at how switched on to the minor details he is, tactically and in terms of preparation.
The connection between fans and team has been restored in a matter of months, It's only just over six months since they were told they weren't fit to wear the shirt following another shambolic defeat, this time at Brentford.
But Ten Hag made it a priority to bring everyone together, as he explained in an open letter to supporters the morning after the day before.
"When I arrived at the club, we spoke about the challenge and importance of reuniting this group of players with our amazing fans," he said.
"Please know that you are vital to what we want to achieve and take yesterday as proof of what can happen when we are all United together."
Every line of that letter will resonate with supporters, who are beginning to idolise some of these players once again. But the affection is greatest for the man leading them.
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