Morgan Schneiderlin says Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is taking the Community Shield seriously.
United, winners of the FA Cup, take on Premier League champions Leicester City at Wembley on Sunday in Mourinho’s first competitive game in charge.
Although the trophy is hardly the highest priority for the club, who are looking to bounce back after three poor campaigns in the Premier League, Schneiderlin says Mourinho is keen for his tenure to get off to a flying start.
“It’s a serious trophy. The manager has made us aware of the fact that he wants to win it,” Schneiderlin told the club website.
“So we know that it is very important. We are playing the champions of England. We want to show we are there and we are ready to go in the Premier League.
“What better way to start than by lifting a trophy?”
United have so far had mixed results under Mourinho in pre-season, beating Wigan and Galatasaray, but suffering a 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund and drawing 0-0 with Everton at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The link-up between new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and captain Wayne Rooney has been the main talking point with Mourinho deploying Rooney in the number 10 position.
Although it will take time for the two to develop an understanding, so far the signs have not been particularly promising.
Elsewhere, Luke Shaw has continued his comeback from a serious leg break while new signings Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have bedded into the team well.
Leicester suffered a 4-2 loss to Barcelona in their last game, but new signing Ahmed Musa showed his talent, coming off the bench to score twice and could be a dangerous player for United to watch out for.
After the Community Shield, United open their Premier League campaign away to Bournemouth on August 14.
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