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Southampton are all set for their second ever League Cup final. Together as one, we #MarchToWembley!
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The Press Box: Joe Prince-Wright
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How does it feel to see Southampton in a major final again?
“It’s pretty incredible for the city. In my lifetime, it’s only been the FA Cup final in 2003, so I’ve grown up only hearing about 1976 and 1979. I think everyone in Southampton of a certain generation really has been hoping for a major cup final for a while. I think it’s a great reward for the club and for all the hard work since 2009, when the Liebherr family came in and took over.
“This is a big, one-off day. Obviously, the JPT final was a big occasion, but this is on a whole other level.
“I’ve heard from people all over the world who are flying to England this weekend – people in the States, or people who will be tuning in from the Caribbean or Australia or wherever.
“For anyone from Southampton, they kind of understand these occasions only come around once in a while, and these players, if they pull it off, they will be heroes for pretty much the rest of their lives in the city, and they won’t have to buy a drink there again. It’s incredible and it’s going to be a great atmosphere from the Saints fans, I’m sure.”
What have you made of this run to the final and what has struck you most about it?
“The only game I’ve missed is the Crystal Palace game – the first one. I don’t want to jinx it, but it almost seems a little bit fated, the way that certain players have stepped in. The youngsters have done really well. I remember back to being at St Mary’s for Sofiane Boufal’s incredible goal that won that game, and Arsenal away was an absolutely superb display.
"I spoke with Steven Davis and Ryan Bertrand after the game at the Emirates, and they said it was about time the team had a good cup run and that the aim had to be to win a trophy. You could see that they truly believed it. That, to me, set the tone for this whole run – the squad was focused on at least getting to Wembley.
"With the squad rotation, it has showed how strong the squad has been as well. There’s been kind of an air of confidence and a freshness about the team in this competition. They haven’t conceded a goal, obviously, which is an incredible achievement in itself.
“Even in the semi-final, in those two big games against Liverpool, Saints went into the game and created a lot of chances and honestly could have won by five or six in the end over the two legs.
“I think it’s long overdue getting to a cup final, and it’s just all come together nicely. The fact it’s been all against Premier League teams shows the quality and strength in depth the squad has this season."
How big an achievement would it be for the club to win?
“It would be right up there with ’76. It would only be the second major title in the club’s history. For this generation of Saints fans, it would be the pinnacle and a great reward for all the hard work that has gone in.
“Yes, 1976 holds a special place in people’s hearts. It’s not that I’m tired about hearing about that, but I’d love there to be a new moment in Saints’ history that fans could look back on and have on an equal footing. It’s been a long time coming and I think it’s about time Saints had new history in their folklore.”
You’ve seen a lot of Manchester United this season as well. What have you made of them, and how much of a challenge will they pose?
“They’re kind of like a juggernaut at the moment. They’re going a lot better. I’ve seen them a lot recently and they keep grinding out these results.
“Defensively I think that’s been the big improvement, whether it’s the defensive unit, or Carrick or Herrera sitting in front – it really allows the likes of Pogba and Ibrahimović to link up better in attack, and the attacking options they have go on and on. They’re willing to do the defensive work as well, and I think Mourinho is starting to see this as his team now, even though they’re a long way from being the finished article under him.
“But only one defeat in 25 games in all competitions kind of says it all. Right now, they are obviously the heavy favourites for Sunday."
Which players have to have a big game for Southampton, if they are to overcome United then?
“Oriol Romeu has been absolutely sensational this season. Hopefully he can do a good job on Pogba, after he got injured early on in the game at Old Trafford this season. I think he can do a good job of stopping that link up, and then Saints will have a chance.
“He’s been my player of the season, alongside Virgil van Dijk, who obviously won’t be featuring, and that links into the centre-backs. Yoshida, I think with his experience, really needs to step up and try to shackle Zlatan.
“I think Dušan Tadić as well. He’s playing more centrally now and that’s his best role for me. That partnership he has with Gabbiadini is encouraging, and he’s come in and scored three goals in his first two games, and that partnership will be key.
“The final one for me would be Fraser Forster. If you’re the heavy underdog and you’re going to win a trophy, you always need your goalkeeper to come up with some big saves. I think Fraser’s got that in his locker for sure."
How do you rate the team’s chances against United?
“If I had to give it a percentage, I’d probably say 30 per cent. Going into this game, there’s certainly a lot of hope, given the semi-final victory over Liverpool, and Saints are going to need a very similar performance to that.
“Southampton are very dangerous on the break, and when I look at the full-backs – Ryan Bertrand and Cédric – they always give an option on the break, then there’s the pace of Redmond, and Tadić’s creativity as well. I just think Saints have a lot of options on the counter, and this game could be set up pretty well for them if they can soak up the pressure, because there’s going to be chances for them. Then, it’s all about being clinical, which they were against Sunderland recently."
How much are you personally looking forward to working the final?
“It’s going to be very emotional, I think. I’ll probably be a bit of a nervous wreck in the press box. It’s a great experience. I got to go to the European games this season and have seen this team grow and develop over the past few years while working for NBC Sports.
“As someone born and bred in Southampton and who holds the club very close to my heart, I just hope they can get it over the line, and I hope to see them walking up those famous steps at Wembley lifting the trophy.
“My whole family are all huge Saints fans, and I grew up watching the club at The Dell and have seen some famous wins against Man United over the years.
“My dad, mum and sister will all be at Wembley on Sunday, scattered around the stadium supporting the team. Whatever happens, I’ll meet up with my family in London after the game… but hopefully we will be celebrating a famous win!"
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Each week Max Rushden will be taking on Head of Sky Data, Harry Carr, in a prediction contest between gut instinct and hardcore statistical algorithms.
Max will also be testing Harry’s numerical nous with listeners’ questions, while a Sky Sports journalist will be popping by with insight and analysis on a recent top-flight talking point.
Check out the video above for Harry’s five killer stats ahead of the EFL Cup final - and then download the podcast to find out…
You can get involved, too, by tweeting @MaxRushden and @harrydcarr the questions you need to know the answers to.
Click here to download the Sky Sports Stat Attack podcast from iTunes.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 24/02/2017 00:58:56
| | Liverpool Have “Head Start” in Van Dijk ChaseSBNATIONTHELIVERPOOLOFFSIDE |
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Most serious was the car accident in 2008 that killed his friend Tim Corby and left both Channon and his younger son, Jack, in intensive care. He suffered fractures to his ribs, arm and jaw, as well as a punctured lung, but was still issuing instructions to Channon Jnr from his hospital bed within four days. “Don’t show the ----ers any weakness,” was one nugget of advice for dealing with the opposition in his absence. Does he remember the accident? “I remember waking up in the car and being cut out,” he says. “I could hear the drills.
“I remember the medic saying to me, ‘Just breathe, Mr Channon’ and I was thinking, ‘I can’t breathe’. I heard someone say, ‘We have got a fatality here’. They cut me out and air-lifted me. Then I don’t remember a couple of days. More lucky was my son, who was 14. If I’d gone it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. I’ve had a bit of life. He hadn’t. Does it change you? It slowed me up but I still want to do the same things. I love training horses and living with horses. It’s fascinating. What makes some go fast? Why do you have Messi and Ronaldo and then so many ---- players? Same applies to horses.”
Channon Jnr predicts that his dad will “retire in a box” and, ahead of his 70th birthday next year, there is no hint of him slowing down from daily 5.30am starts. He remains surrounded by family living on the estate – including his amazing 95-year-old mum, Betty – but there is daily sadness at the thought that Alan Ball should be by his side.
Ball was in the process of moving to West Ilsley when he suffered his fatal heart attack in 2007. “I spoke to him that evening,” says Channon. “He told me that moving house was the most stressful thing he’d done. Bally was an enthusiast in life. A football nut. The same as Keegan.”
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Manolo Gabbiadini can win us the EFL Cup - Southampton keeper Fraser Forster
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The Southampton goalkeeper has been preparing for Sunday’s EFL Cup final with Manchester United by brushing up on his penalty saving technique.
England star Forster has a dreadful record having failed to save any of the seven spot-kicks he has faced for Saints, including one from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Saints’ 2-0 defeat at United in August.
“It’s a tough one because keepers do research and then strikers know we do research and then you can send each other insane trying to bluff each other and over-thinking it,” he said.
“At the end of the day, you just have to make up your mind, go with your gut and hope he goes the same way that you go.”
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Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier looks ahead to EFL Cup final
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They’ve been plundered for players, had head coaches tempted away and even lost a head of recruitment.
The return of the Saints , however, has been one of the most impressive stories in the Premier League for several years.
It is a measure of the outstanding job done off the pitch as well as on it, that Southampton have capped their latest resurgence with a place in Sunday’s League Cup final.
Saints legend Matt Le Tissier believes the neutrals will be firmly behind his former club, after raids for their best players from Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
“I would imagine the rest of the country, perhaps barring our rivals down at Portsmouth, would like to see Manchester United get chinned. Hopefully we can provide that for them,” he told MirrorSport.
“The club absolutely deserves this. I’m probably more pleased for everybody that has worked there over this last seven years and seen so many lows.
“Having to come back from being in administration, losing a lot of talent to other clubs around us. Losing managers.
“It is a just reward for all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes.
"Yes we do lose players, we are realistic enough to know that if big clubs come in for them then yes, they will probably go.
“But there is stuff in place that means we can continue to build. The recruitment has been incredible given what we’ve lost and had to replace them with.
“We’ve done all this whilst probably making profits in the transfer window season over season. So its been quite some story.”
Sunday’s final is part of an unrivalled schedule of live football on Sky Sports which includes the Premier League run-in, the EFL Play-offs and 2018 World Cup Play-offs.
Le Tissier will watch Southampton’s game from the Sky Sports studio at Wembley with Jamie Redknapp and Phil Neville.
He is hoping for another of another of those moments like the one he experienced at Anfield when Shane Long’s winner saw off Liverpool in the semi-final.
“If there had been a camera on me you’d probably have known how it felt for me.” he said. “You really feel like you should be stood behind the goal with the fans going mental.
“Obviously cup finals don’t happen to us too often down our way so it’s a big deal.”
Claude Puel replaced Ronald Koeman last summer after the Dutchman was lured away by Everton. His predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, was spirited away by Spurs.
The Frenchman has negotiated a tough road to Wembley to put the club within touching distance of their first trophy since 1976, when they also beat United to win the FA Cup.
Wins this season over Crystal Palace and Sunderland were followed by shock victories at Arsenal and Liverpool - both with clean sheets.
Le Tiss believes another win over United could provide the catalyst for Southampton to keep their players.
“That for me would be the biggest plus for the club,” he went on. “Being able to say to players: ‘You don’t need to go anywhere else. You can win things here.’
“It would be fantastic if we could have a few years at the club where we didn’t lose our best players and could actually build a squad that could not just challenge in the cup competitions but also for a place in the top four.”
While the likes of Ibrahimovic, Martial and Mata will prove a handful for the Saints, Le Tissier remains confident that new signing Manolo Gabbiadini will give United something to worry about.
The Italian has hit three in his first two games since signing for £17million from Napoli last month. Le Tissier said: “If you get to a new club the one thing you want to do as a striker is get a goal. He has done that very early on.
“Once goalscorers get a little bit confident the sky is the limit. We had that with Jamie Vardy last season. So hopefully Manny can continue his form and fire us to a Wembley win.
“United are unbeaten in the League since October. They’ve got world class footballers in their side.
“If we were to beat them I think it would be not quite as big as 76 - we were a division below them at the time - but I don’t think it would be too far behind.
“I don’t think many people are tipping Southampton to win on Sunday. But that’s the way we like it.”
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Lawrie McMenemy on the build up to Southampton’s last League Cup final
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Legendary boss Lawrie McMenemy took Southampton to their last League Cup final in 1979, against Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
Here are his memories of an unforgettable week…
Southampton have to play an FA Cup fifth-round replay against Ron Atkinson’s West Bromwich Albion five days before the League Cup final.
‘Ron was on the phone early asking if I had any spare tickets for tonight’s replay,’ writes McMenemy in his book Diary of a Season. ‘“You’ve got too many friends,” I said. He also asked if he could borrow our bus to go home after the game and I agreed.’
Laurie Cunningham scored first, but David Peach equalised from the spot late on to take the game into extra-time. McMenemy was giving a team talk on the pitch but winger Terry Curran kept trying to interrupt. ‘He is not the wisest of players tactically and feeling that he would have little to contribute that would help us, I ignored him. “Excuse me boss,” he said, holding his hand up. Exasperated, I said: “What is it then?” “Can I go to the toilet?” he said. The other players dissolved in laughter.’
Before the historic FA Cup final victory against Manchester United three years earlier, Southampton stayed at the Selsdon Park Hotel in Surrey and McMenemy decided to do the same again.
‘A week before, Brian Clough had rung John Bond (Norwich manager) and asked if he wanted to fix their postponed game against Norwich before the League Cup final,’ McMenemy writes. ‘No other manager would volunteer to play a match four days before a Wembley final but Clough is always different.
‘I’d planned to go (to Nottingham). By late afternoon, however, it was obvious we would never make it by road and the hotel manager said he could contact a helicopter firm if I wished it.
‘He made the call and one was available at a cost of £450. It was nearly 5pm when I rang the Dell to get my secretary to ring the chairman so he knew about the flight before reading about it in the papers the next morning. Val said: “Mr McMenemy, have you been drinking?”’
McMenemy appeared on an ITV show with Brian Clough. He flew to Newcastle where it was held at the Neon Social Club in Jarrow.
‘It was a Batley Variety club type place in the middle of a council estate,’ McMenemy explains.
‘Five hundred people paid £1 each to be present. Cloughie was as relaxed as I have ever seen him. It was an entertaining night. There was no attempt to outwit each other. We were both on home territory, among friends, and enjoying ourselves. The reaction from the audience was very enthusiastic.’
An early start and a day packed with final preparations. ‘I caught the 7am flight to London and was supervising training at the Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre at 10.30,’ McMenemy writes.
‘In the afternoon I went to Lime Grove for a Nationwide interview with John Motson. I didn’t think the interview went well.
‘By the time I had finished dinner at the hotel, the players were drifting off to bed from 9.30pm onwards. Some sat in their rooms watching TV, others went straight to sleep and some needed sleeping tablets. David Peach said it didn’t seem like a Cup final next day. “It seems like another game,” he said. I felt the same way. Once you’ve been to Wembley, it’s never the same again.’
McMenemy awoke on match day to snow. The view from his window ‘was like a Christmas card’. His phone kept ringing with good wishes from friends.
‘Another call was from Freddie Starr, the comedian, who I’d never met,’ McMenemy continues. ‘He rang me on the morning of the 1976 FA Cup final and said he would come along but never showed up. He said he would drive over but I expected that we wouldn’t see him.
‘I went round talking to the players who were wearing their new suits. Ivan Golac wore his own tie. He didn’t like the club one. Chris Nicholl had his favourite £8.95 Parka hooded jacket in his hand. It was a joke with the players. His ambition was to be a mountain climber in Canada and he always seemed dressed for the part.
‘Surprisingly Freddie Starr did turn up and had the players laughing with his impersonation of Alan Ball. After a light lunch, I took the players to a room for my team talk. I told Curran to keep close to me because I suspected that Clough, his ex-manager, would try to psych him out.
‘When I stepped on the coach I noticed Freddie Starr sitting at the back, uninvited, talking to the players. It was 1.15, rather late, and I decided to let him stay.’
Southampton arrived at 2.10pm, later than McMenemy wanted despite the police escort, and he went to inspect the pitch, which was ‘on the heavy side’. McMenemy was bemused to see Freddie Starr lead the players out of the tunnel.
‘In the dressing room a Wembley employee came in with a sheet for me to sign — a bill for the bottles of beer and orange we had ordered,’ McMenemy writes.
‘Receipts for the match were a record £430,000 and they bother about claiming a few quid back from the two clubs that made it possible! Another employee was fidgeting about. “Come on, it’s time to come out,” he said. I told him to wait. We weren’t going to rush and stand in the tunnel waiting for Forest.
‘It was my third time at Wembley and I was blasé about it. I thought about managers like Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley who were always leading teams out at Wembley and if it still got through to them.
‘I looked up to the seats behind the Royal Box and picked out my wife Anne. She was right at the back which didn’t please me. There was a private box nearer the front but they wouldn’t let the children in, only her, and she wanted to be with them.
‘As we sat down in front of the bench, Clough and Peter Taylor and his trainer Jimmy Gordon at one end, and Lew Chatterley and Don Taylor and myself at the other, I spotted Freddie Starr sitting behind us! He’d gatecrashed the best seats in the stadium.’
Southampton led at half-time through Peach’s goal but McMenemy was wary that Clough would turn the match at half-time. ‘As I emerged into the sunlight from the tunnel, I was disappointed to see that not one of the divots had been put back,’ he explains.
‘It was a difficult enough surface without that. Forest, predictably, were a different team. They came at us like a swarm of bees.’
In a stinging second-half display, Garry Birtles scored two and Tony Woodcock a third, before Southampton’s Nick Holmes replied with a late consolation.
‘You stand there surrounded by people but suddenly you feel lonely,’ McMenemy recalls.
‘I looked at the faces of the players. Tony Sealy, who’d been on only a few minutes, was holding his head as though he’d just been pulled out of a crashed airplane.
‘It struck me that perhaps we take defeat too seriously in professional football. Steve Williams had tears in his eyes and when the players came back from the Royal Box with their medal and tankard he didn’t want to go on the lap of honour. I grabbed him. “Your mother has come out of hospital to see you,” I said. “Get round there!” His mother suffered from multiple sclerosis and we’d arranged with the hospital to bring her by ambulance.
‘I was about to depart for the dressing room when I heard Clough shout, “Hey, come here”. I looked round. “You’re coming up those steps with me,” he said. He pointed to the Royal Box. I said: “No.” “You are,” he said. “We’re not going without you. He took my arm and we went up together.’
In His Way: The Brian Clough Story, Clough said he was annoyed the Football League had vetoed his idea to walk out with Peter Taylor. So, in typical Clough style, he grabbed his chance to make mischief and dragged McMenemy up to the Royal Box. ‘Formidable Football League secretary Alan Hardaker hissed: “What the hell are you two doing here?”’
Extracts taken from The Diary of a Season, by Lawrie McMenemy. Lawrie’s autobiography, A Lifetime’s Obsession, is available now
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 24/02/2017 08:00:38
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United favourites but Southampton can harness spirit of '76
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With United boss Jose Mourinho enjoying such an affinity with the competition that launched his English trophy collection, United will be favourites against their Premier League rivals.
But that’s what they were in the 1976 FA Cup final when Southampton, then a second-tier club, stunned them with a 1-0 victory secured by Stokes in the 83rd minute.
Stokes, who died aged 44 in 1995, is still a cult hero at the south-coast club whose highlights since have been defeats in the 1979 League Cup and 2003 FA Cup finals.
While Saints manager Claude Puel can gild his first season in the job with an unexpected trophy, the stakes are higher for Mourinho as he tries to make his mark at a club where silverware is a basic requirement.
The unpopular Louis van Gaal managed it last season, steering United to an FA Cup success before making way for Mourinho, who won the League Cup for the third time in 2014-15 during his second spell in charge of Chelsea.
Victory on Saturday would bring Mourinho level with his United predecessor Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough, who jointly hold the record as the most successful managers in League Cup history.
While that would be a noteworthy achievement, the wider significance would be a first meaningful trophy for Mourinho at United, although his side did win the Community Shield curtain-raiser against Leicester City back in August.
The League Cup final win over Liverpool in 2005 got the Portuguese rolling at Chelsea, months after he arrived in England describing himself as the “Special One”.
It was a pivotal moment that sparked a blistering run of form that took Chelsea to the Premier League title – a feat they repeated a year later. Mourinho also took the club to an FA Cup/League Cup double in 2006-07 before leaving months later.
While United are too far back this season to be serious title contenders, barring an implosion by Chelsea, their form is impressive and victory on Sunday could be a launchpad to secure a top-four finish and a return to the Champions League.
At present they are sixth, but have crept up and are just two points below fourth-placed Arsenal.
United’s preparations have not been helped, however, by the distraction of their Europa league engagement with St Etienne who they saw off 4-0 on aggregate on Wednesday.
A 1-0 victory in France came at a price as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick were both injured and have been ruled out against Southampton.
The build-up to the game has also been hijacked by speculation that Wayne Rooney could be leaving for China.
While United have been busy making progress to the last 16 of the Europa League and FA Cup quarter-finals, Southampton have been able to focus entirely on Wembley since a 4-0 win over Sunderland in the Premier League on Feb. 11.
Their league form has been patchy, but Puel’s team have come alive in the League Cup, beating four top-flight teams – including Arsenal and Liverpool – without conceding a goal.
No wonder keeper Fraser Forster is confident of spoiling United’s day.
“If you look at the teams we’ve beaten on the way to the final, there’s no reason why we can’t do that when we face Man United,” he said. “We’ve got huge respect for Man United but there’s nothing to fear.”
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Premier League sack race: Claudio Ranieri fired! Could Arsene Wenger be next?
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Premier League sack race: Who could be the next boss to leave after Ranieri?
LEICESTER have sacked Claudio Ranieri, but which Premier league boss could be the next to go?
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The Foxes decided to part ways with the Italian gaffer who orchestrated the team’s shock triumph last season.
Leicester have been struggling during this campaign and are just one point above the relegation zone.
Arsene Wenger has also been under fire this season, but is he the next to go according to the bookies?
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Expected Man United XI: Who could replace Mkhitaryan and Carrck against Southampton?
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MANCHESTER UNITED are taking on Southampton in Sunday’s EFL Cup final at Wembley, but who could Jose Mourinho start?
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick suffered a hamstring and calf injury respectively on Wednesday night against St Etienne.
Both of them are now doubts for the big clash with Saints.
Marouane Fellaini could take Carrick’s place whereas Juan Mata and Anthony Martial could start up front with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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Bertrand: Winning a trophy should be Saints’ priority
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IT has been the ongoing debate of this season at Saints … what would count as a successful campaign?
Saints have been on an upward trajectory for the past seven seasons, but the feeling was that this one would take a different shape.
Last term’s record breaking 6th place Premier League finish was going to be very difficult to beat.
To make this season a success it was, it seemed, going to be all about an extended cup run.
In the end it wasn’t meant to be in the Europa League, with Saints fairly inexplicably failing to progress from their group.
But Puel has led Saints to the League Cup final and a chance at their first major silverware in 41 years.
Lifting a first big trophy since the 1976 FA Cup would certainly make a success of this season, and allow Saints to rest easy a bit about where they finish in the top-flight.
Left-back Ryan Bertrand would certainly have no qualms over trading a lower finish in the Premier League for a trophy.
“You’d definitely sacrifice a position or two [in the Premier League],” he said.
“Perhaps not every year, but this season, naturally, you would sacrifice places for a bit of silverware.”
The 27-year-old admits that one of the incentives of winning the League Cup would the opportunity to get back into the Europa League next season.
Saints were just a matter of 12 minutes away from qualifying from their group in December, but couldn’t get the goalless draw or victory that would have afforded them passage to the knockout stages.
The 1-1 draw at St Mary’s against Hapoel Be’er Sheva that eliminated Saints will remain a blot on the copy book.
But the League Cup offers a certain level of atonement for that failure.
“It would put us back in the tournament,” he said. "And perhaps it would be third time lucky with that one too.
"It’s all to play for still this year. There’s plenty of games and a cup final.
“There’s plenty of big things that can come from that cup final.”
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Yoshida desperate for a place in Saints history
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MAYA Yoshida is desperate to write himself into Southampton Football Club history by winning the League Cup – and become a role model for fellow Japanese footballers.
Such is the calibre and experience of the current Saints team, many of the players already have numerous medals to their name.
Ryan Bertrand, Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis, Fraser Forster and Cedric Soares are among those to have lifted trophies with previous clubs.
But for Yoshida this is his first chance to win a domestic honour, and it’s an opportunity he is taking very seriously because he knows that such an achievement will be prominent in his homeland.
The central defender has usually been a back-up during his four seasons at Saints but, with Virgil van Dijk injured and Jose Fonte now at West Ham, he finds himself first choice alongside Jack Stephens.
A bullish Yoshida is now ready to prove that Saints can be become a “bigger club” by winning their first piece of major silverware in 41 years with him at the heart of the defence.
“The fans really expect us to get the title,” he said.
"Every season we lost many players to bigger teams, because I understand that everyone wants to play at bigger clubs with history in cups, like Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
"But we could be a bigger club and that’s why we need a title.
"If we get the title then more players will want to come to Southampton.
"Also in the academy everyone will start to think they want to be like Van Dijk, Shane Long and maybe Maya Yoshida in Asia.
“It’s important because in Japan everyone wants to come to England because it’s not an easy thing to do, so if I get titles it’s more prominent on the news.”
The 28-year-old, who arrived from Dutch side VVV-Venlo in 2012, won the 2011 Asian Cup with Japan, but has not tasted domestic success, yet.
“I haven’t got any titles in my club career, only the Asian Cup for the national team, so I really want to win it,” he smiled.
"Since I came to Southampton the club have improved a lot and now is the right time to write another chapter.
“It would be massive for the club and I would like to be part of the club’s history.”
Saints have been on an upward trajectory for the past seven seasons, with promotions and constantly improving league finishes in the Premier League over the past three campaigns.
Yoshida believes that Saints are one of the “most improved” clubs on the planet.
As such, the Japanese says that Saints can be a role model for fellow forward thinking clubs if they continue their rise by winning the League Cup.
“Because the Premier League is such a big competition not everyone can reach this kind of achievements,” he said.
"Southampton are one of the most improved clubs in the world over the past few years.
"We could be great role models for other football clubs all over the world.
“That’s why we need this title.”
Yoshida dreams of telling his grandchildren about writing himself in to Saints history, and becoming equals to the heroes of the 1976 FA Cup.
“Yes, not only for the players but for the staff who are working in Southampton Football Club,” he said.
"Everyone will have their name in history if we get the title.
"Me, all the players, the coach, everyone.
"For everyone it’s an important thing.
“We’re going to be really proud of ourselves and we can tell to our grandchildren that we are a big part of the history of the club.”
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WHEN Jack Stephens was a boy, he was such a prodigious talent he had to be substituted at half-time - with his school team leading 13-0.
Matt Evans, the head of PE at Torpoint Community College, recalls a talented all-round sportsman, who also excelled at tennis, rugby and athletics.
“We had a very good relationship with Plymouth Argyle so Jack played a lot of sport for the school teams,” he said.
"He played in a variety of positions but most of the time he was given a free role; he was so athletic he could cover the whole pitch.
"He led our football team to the county cup but in one game we had to take him off at half-time because it was too unfair on the opposition!
"He was also an excellent middle distance runner and a very good fly-half alongside his best mate at scrum-half.
“But he’s also a very nice down-to-earth lad who’s never been big-time. The next time I see him I’ll be reminding him we still have to finish a tennis set that was tied at 6-6 at the end of one lesson!”
Stephens’ performance in Saints’ EFL Cup semi-final win at Liverpool was the talk of his alma mater, where his mum Pip is the attendance officer.
So too a likely second appearance at Wembley (he played in Swindon’s 4-0 League One play-off final defeat against Preston two years ago).
Stephens recently celebrated his 23rd birthday but made his Plymouth debut under Peter Reid just a few months after sitting his GCSEs.
At 16 years and eight months, he was the youngest to play in English football’s top four divisions in 2010.
After six games alongside Bondz N’Gala and Reda Johnson, Eastleigh defenders past and present, he was snapped up by Saints for an initial £150,000.
Already an established Under-21 international, it would be no surprise to many in the west country if he becomes only the second Cornishman, after former Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace and Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, to win full England honours.
Only four other Cornishmen - Matthew Etherington, Wayne Quinn, Chris Morris and Kevin Miller - are believed have played in the Premier League.
Plymouth scout John James first spotted Stephens as a 12 year-old and was also the man who picked out Sam Gallagher, the Saints striker on loan at Blackburn.
He said: "Jack was always going to be a footballer. He was a tall lad even then but stood out because he was so good on the ground which isn’t always the case with defenders.
I’m very pleased for the boy and hopefully he’ll go on and become a full international.
"He doesn’t flap, he reads the game very well and also did very well when I saw him play for the Under-21s at Plymouth last year.
"He didn’t start brilliantly for us but made gradual progress. He has a great family behind him, lovely people who gave him all the encouragement and support he needed.
"I think going on loan to Middlesbrough, Coventry and Swindon was a great experience for him.
“He’s a very versatile centre-half, at one stage I thought he might become a full-back and is very good at organising a back four. If he carries on as he’s going I can see him making the full England squad.”
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