Luke highlights two key final factors

Our no.23 has been hugely unfortunate in the past when it comes to showpiece matches having had to sit out the 2016 FA Cup final and the 2017 Europa League final due to injury, and he also missed out on last season’s Europa League semi-final clash against Sevilla.

Having enjoyed arguably the best season of his career to date, which has led to an England recall and a place in Gareth Southgate’s preliminary Euro 2020 squad, Shaw is feeling strong and positive as he and his team-mates prepare to take on Villarreal in Gdansk.

“I was a bit unfortunate last time, I wasn't there,” he told reporters at the pre-match press conference, in reference to missing our 2017 triumph. “This season, especially now there's, personally in my opinion, much more confidence and belief in the squad that we're improving as a team. This is the next step [on Wednesday night] to go out and show that we're going in the right direction. There's a lot of confidence and belief that we're taking the right steps and this is another step in the right direction.

“A [winners] medal would mean a great deal. It’s something that when you come to Manchester United you look to win trophies. We’ve missed out on a few trophies in the last few years and I know how disappointed the lads have been. So there is a massive incentive to go out there and obviously enjoy it, but leave everything out on the pitch to win it.

“I look around and everyone seems very relaxed, enjoying the moment being here in the final. We have not been in one for a while. I think most of the lads are just looking forward to getting out there. There is no need for nerves, we’re here for a reason, I think we deserve to be here. And on Wednesday night we just need to go out there and do what we’ve done to get here, and hopefully we can come back with the trophy. The last couple of days after the great win against Wolves we have studied Villarreal, but we need to focus on us and all the players will give everything to win this trophy and try to finish the season in a good way.”

Some 2,000 Reds will be inside Gdansk Stadium to cheer the team on and having experienced their return at Old Trafford last week for the Fulham game, Shaw insists they will provide further inspiration for the players in Poland.

“I think it'll be nice to welcome fans back into a big game like this. I was saying to the manager before this that we obviously wish it was full but we had a bit of a taste of fans back at Old Trafford,” added Luke.

“We only had 10,000 but the difference that made for everyone... you felt goosebumps when you first walked out, it was a really nice feeling to have them back. Wednesday night will be the same. It won't be as much as 10,000 United fans, but it'll be very good to have some cheering us on. Hopefully we can give them a night to remember for a long while.”