Louis Van Gaal believes that beating Crystal Palace at Wembley is more important to the club than qualifying for Europe because it will give his players something tangible to build on in the future.
Man United’s FA Cup win over Palace in 1990 was the launch pad for Sir Alex Ferguson’s era of dominance, and Van Gaal is desperate for a victory at Wembley as he hopes to stay at United for the final year of his contract.
‘A club like Manchester United needs silverware,’ he said. ‘We need that and the players need that also.
‘When you win silverware it is always important. Qualification is not a title, a title is the FA Cup or a championship.
‘For players it is very important. They can look and hold the cup. That is an exciting moment.
Especially here in England because the FA Cup is a big title. We are playing in the most prestigious temple of England; Van Gaal says everything confirms how important this cup is.
‘It is not good to speak about my interest, it is good to speak about the interest of the club. It is very important for the club and the players.
'Of course for the manager and his staff it is very important, but first it is about the club.
‘I have read that the last FA Cup was 2004 so it's a long time ago. Also for Manchester United it's a big title I think, especially now because it is a long time ago.
‘It’s always exciting when you are so close but close it not winning, you have to win it. It's always a final you cannot predict, you have seen it yesterday for example (when Sevilla beat Liverpool in the Europa League final).
'First we have to win and then you can say it's the first title after the period of Alex Ferguson.
‘I think the fans are more concerned about the title than I am. A title for the fans is fantastic, and we want to give it because they were always there.
'In my opinion unconditional, they have never let us down. They deserve it more than anyone else.
‘Now we are close. We have played four matches of the six away so we deserve something I think.
'When you win away at West Ham it is very difficult. Crystal Palace have beaten Tottenham so they deserve to be in the final.
‘To impress and perform well is dependent on a lot of factors, also of the opponent. You always need two attacking sides, then you get a fantastic match.
'Of course our starting point is to perform well and score beautiful goals. But 1 -0 for me is also enough. Winning is the most important thing in a final.’
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