I always try to put myself in a secondary position, but the reality is that it's also important for me. It's important for the fans and for the players. 'I am very happy,' came Mourinho's reply, delivered while wearing the face of a man who was anything but. 'Jose,' it started, 'for someone who has just won a trophy, you don't seem hugely exuberant or happy.' In fact, the second question in his winners' news conference suggested as much. It's easy with the benefit of hindsight but there were signs, even during the celebrations at Wembley in 2017, that all was not well with Mourinho at United. The question for Ten Hag is simple: how will his 2023 League Cup triumph be remembered? Ferguson used the cup competitions - particularly success in the FA Cup in 1990 and the League Cup in 2006 - to trigger periods of sustained success. The 2017 League Cup, secured with a 3-2 win over Southampton, wasn't the platform it was supposed to be, and it has since been consigned to history as a rare good day during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson slump. Stream on ESPN+: Carabao Cup, FA Cup, more (U.S.)

There was more to come from Mourinho in the elongated vase of the UEFA Europa League three months later, but a little over a year after that, Mourinho was gone, sacked in December 2018 following a series of disagreements with the board over transfers and a run of miserable results. Like Ten Hag, Mourinho lifted the League Cup in his first season as manager at Old Trafford and then spoke about wanting more. These words sound a lot like something Erik ten Hag could have said in the aftermath of Manchester United's Carabao Cup final victory against Newcastle on Sunday, but they belong to Jose Mourinho, who had been sat in the same seat in the Wembley news conference exactly six years earlier. My contract is long, so hopefully I can win something more.'

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