Blind sees Shield as springboard
Print Edition
DALEY Blind believes Manchester United’s Community Shield victory can be the springboard for a Premier League title challenge.
Jose Mourinho’s side beat champion Leicester City 2-1 in the annual curtain raiser in the English top-flight season at Wembley on Sunday.
While the Shield is not always a reliable barometer of future success, United defender Blind is confident the first silverware of the Mourinho era can be the prelude to bigger prizes.
“I think we said it last year as well, a club like Manchester United always wants to play for titles,” Blind said.
“So we are competing in every competition the club is in and we want to win whatever we can.”
United finished outside the Premier League’s top four last term, so Mourinho has been rebuilding his squad since replacing the sacked Louis van Gaal and two of the new signings impressed against Leicester.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the 83rd-minute winner with a towering header, while Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly was an aggressive and mobile presence in central defense.
With Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba undergoing a medical yesterday ahead of his proposed world-record transfer to United, Dutch international Blind says there is a buzz of optimism at Old Trafford after the drab reign of the cautious van Gaal.
“It’s exciting times. I’m optimistic because we have a great squad and we already have our first trophy with the Community Shield and there’s a lot more to come,” he said. “We wanted to win this trophy and we considered it a very important game. We worked hard to win the FA Cup and that means you also get to play this game and we wanted to win it.
“If you look over the season Leicester worked very hard to win the league and we worked very hard to win the Cup.
“That means both teams are standing to win another prize. And we’re happy to have it. If you play for a prize you want to win it.”
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