Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has admitted that he quickly learned not to undervalue the importance of the FA Cup when joining English football 13 years ago.
The Portuguese is expected to name a strong starting lineup on Sunday when heading to Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the competition, three days on from facing Saint-Etienne in the Europa League.
United face a gruelling run of games as they continue to battle on four fronts, including an EFL Cup final tie with Southampton next weekend, but Mourinho has no doubt about just how important England's famous domestic cup is and also took a swipe at those who put it near the bottom of their list of priorities.
"Maybe we don't have as many English managers, with that culture, as we should," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "Maybe we foreign managers, not everybody studies and understands the culture of this country. Normally it's because of attitude - because you think it's easy, and it's not easy. Also, the lower-league teams, they're getting better and better.
"In my case, I had it immediately at Chelsea in my first time, that situation, with a match at Newcastle. So for me it was a lesson. I threw it away. In the same week was the Champions League against Barcelona and the League Cup final against Liverpool. We had an FA Cup tie against Newcastle [the previous Sunday] and I threw it away, I gambled too much [on selection].
"I focused too much on Barcelona and Liverpool. It was good, because we beat Barcelona [5-4 on aggregate] and won the final against Liverpool. But the feeling that I threw it [the FA Cup] away wasn't good. So I don't throw it away [now]. If I lose, I lose because the opponent was better or because we didn't play well, but I'm not going to throw it away. I try always to go serious. I like Wembley, I like the FA Cup, so I have to try to get a second one."
Twelve teams from the Premier League were eliminated from the FA Cup in rounds three and four, leaving just eight in the competition at the fifth-round stage.
Daniel Lewis
