If his Manchester City teammates think beyond the FA Cup final, Ruben Dias has warned, they would "kill" their Treble aspirations.
In the Champions League final against Inter Milan, City will have the opportunity to repeat their 1999 Triple Crown if they defeat local rivals United at Wembley. The City manager has previously said that Pep Guardiola's team may have a "once in a lifetime opportunity" as they stand on the cusp of history.
However, City defender Dias warned that if Guardiola's team let their thoughts drift to the Champions League final rather than concentrating on how to defeat United, they will lose focus and lose the game.
“We’ve not done anything yet,” said Dias. “We definitely know what we’re going for and we really want it."
“But we know if we start to think too far ahead, then it will kill us. Our heads are on training. Little by little, we think. Just think and do it.
“Our best chance of beating United is just by being Manchester City. It’ll be a tight game. A final is a final, it’ll always be tight whatever the odds."
“It’s a special competition for all of us and a special competition for the country. We want to win it very much.”
Although City dominated United 6-3 at home to start the season, Erik ten Hag's team hit back at United with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
Both teams, according to Dias, may learn from such matches, but City will approach United with the intention of dominating early on rather than attempting to neutralize Ten Hag's team.
“Those points of reference will be important, but it’s a new game and a final is always different,” said Dias.
“It’s about being who we are. We’ve played them, we know their strong points and weak points."
"United have many threats and we know them well. We know who can be dangerous and how they can be dangerous."
“In the end, it’ll be about knowing them the best we can, but most of all knowing ourselves and being the very best version of ourselves."
“The demand is always very high. It starts mainly from the manager and the demand is always there."
“No matter what we do, individually or as a team, we’ll be asked for more and more.”
The players at City, according to Dias, never get tired of winning championships, despite the fact that they have won five of the last six Premier League championships under Guardiola, including three straight.
Although the FA Cup may not be as high on their list of goals as the Premier League and the Champions League, Dias claimed that City's players cannot face the idea of dropping the trophy.
"It’s one of the biggest competitions,” said Dias. “The moment you start losing that fire, that spice for winning trophies, then you’re not doing anything at this club."
“My passion is still there. We really want to win it again.”
Dias missed City's last three games through injury, but is back training and ready to play. “I’m on fire,” he said. I’m feeling good and I’ve trained with the team.”
Asked how it would feel to do the Double and be one win from the Treble, Dias said: “Of course it’s a great achievement."
“We’ll celebrate it if we do it and then we’ll think about what's coming, because we're still not finished. The biggest game is the next one and the next one is United.”
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