Even now, 16 years on, I can still see the banner hanging in the Millennium Stadium. I laughed when I saw it then and it still makes me smile now.

It was August 2001, three months after the favourite season of my professional career had ended in a blaze of trophies and a place in the Champions League, and Manchester United's fans wanted to let Liverpool know what they thought of our unprecedented achievement.

We'd become the first English club to win both domestic cup competitions, as well as the UEFA Cup but, unsurprisingly, there was no recognition from Old Trafford. United's fans dubbed it the 'Mickey Mouse Treble', two years after completing their own treble. They told us ours was inferior.

(From L-R) Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypia with their three trophies in 2001

Manchester United fans showed Liverpool what they thought of their 2001 treble of cups

I've thought about that banner more and more since last Sunday, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic took centre stage at Wembley and won United the EFL Cup. One down, two to go. Would they call it the Mickey Mouse Treble at the end of this season?

United are in an outstanding position to emulate what we achieved under Gerard Houllier.

The League Cup has been secured, the Europa League looks there for the taking and the only possible cloud on the horizon is the collision with Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Celebrating with Michael Owen, Fowler (both left) and Gerrard (right) after the UEFA Cup win

You can argue that United are the most in-form team in the country. They have lost just one of their last 26 matches in all competitions and in Ibrahimovic, they have got an iconic player who is dragging all those around him up a level.

This, however, is where they are going to find their pursuit of history starts to get difficult, when the fixtures mount up and there is no margin for error.

In some ways, trying to win cups is more fraught than trying to win the league, as one really bad night and everything comes crashing down.

The buzz we had in 2000-01 was unique. We played 34 matches between January 1 and May 19, but lost only four.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brace helped Manchester United secure the EFL Cup at Wembley

Everyone remembers what we did in Istanbul in 2005 but that campaign was like nothing I ever experienced for the intensity that seemed to surround every fixture.

One spell demanded we play eight games in 22 days; the sequence included an Anfield showdown with United, both legs of our UEFA Cup semi-final against Barcelona, the FA Cup semi-final, a Merseyside derby at Goodison Park as well as a clash with Leeds, our rivals for a place in the top three.

What we ended up achieving was remarkable, something that had never been done before. I'm not comparing it to the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, but don't for one minute try to tell me it wasn't special. It won't be any less special if United land it this year, either.

I would say, though, that the UEFA Cup was a higher quality competition 16 years ago than the Europa League is now and that point was proven by the fact our opponents included Olympiacos, Roma, Porto and Barcelona on the way to the final against Alaves.

United? They face a long trip to Rostov this week, but it's a tie I expect them to negotiate. Should they progress, I don't see many dangers lurking, other than the winners of the ties between Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach and Roma and Lyon. United should beat them all.

Patrick Kluivert (centre) and Barcelona were the opposition in the 2001 UEFA Cup semi-final

When I look back now, it still seems surreal. We got on the kind of roll that United will be aiming to continue against Bournemouth on Saturday; we seemed to win every week and bounced from one big game to another.

It culminated in a crazy final seven days, which saw us play finals in Cardiff and Dortmund before going to The Valley to clinch what Houllier felt was our biggest feat, Champions League qualification.

I didn't see it that way. Medals were — and always will be — the best thing to show your accomplishments in football.

There was also the unusual occurrence of playing two finals in four days. It's not something that happens often. Look at United: they have existed for 139 years but the only time they had back-to-back finals was in 1999.

What ultimately got us across the line was Gary McAllister's last-minute free-kick at Goodison Park on April 16, which secured a 3-2 win. Had we dropped points against Everton, having lost our previous game against Leeds, we may not have come back from the disappointment.

So that is the challenge facing Mourinho and his squad. Their performance against Southampton was criticised, but who cares? They don't. They won.

United boss Jose Mourinho has complained of fixture congestion in recent months

It was the same for us when we beat Birmingham in the 2001 League Cup final. We scrambled through on penalties, but that set us on our way.

Can it do the same for them? Certainly, it will have raised their belief and given players who are not used to winning the taste of success.

Frankly, performances do not matter in the next three months. As the challenges get harder and harder, all that matters is getting the job done.

Mourinho has complained about the way fixtures are piling up — they already have two Premier League games against Southampton and Manchester City to re-arrange — but the more success they have, the more complicated it will become. We played 63 games in 2001. United may end up playing 66.

It is something they will have to put up with. If they progress in the Europa League, as I expect them to, the semi-final in May will be sandwiched in between Premier League games against Arsenal and Tottenham, their top-four rivals.

The Europa League gives Mourinho a safety blanket that Liverpool never had in terms of getting into the Champions League.

Liverpool played 63 games during their stellar 2001 campaign - United could face 66 matches

He identified that competition early in the campaign and the biggest threat to their dream looks to be Roma. The final, in Sweden, is four days before the FA Cup final.

That competition presents the biggest problem. The quarter-final at Stamford Bridge will be decided on the night and while Antonio Conte's men will be favourites, do not underestimate how pumped up Mourinho will be to avenge the 4-0 defeat Chelsea inflicted in October.

If they can clear that hurdle? I'd back them to beat any of the potential FA Cup semi-finalists, given Mourinho's big-game experience.

So there it is. United and Liverpool, of course, will always be measured by league titles and European Cups, but three cups in a season? It's no mean feat.

I just hope United's fans don't need to make another banner to mark this one.

CAREFUL DANNY, I NEVER FACED RELEGATION. WILL YOU?

It turned out to be a lively day on Twitter for me on Wednesday after I became involved in a spat with Leicester defender Danny Simpson.

I had heard Leicester's players were not happy with the column I wrote last week, when I said they should be embarrassed for the role they had played, on and off the pitch, in Claudio Ranieri's sacking.

Things finished with Danny telling me, much to the delight of the Manchester United fans on social media, how I'd never lifted the Premier League! I didn't want to respond with anything about trophies, as you're never quite sure what those former United fringe players claim to have won.

He wouldn't however, respond to one question I asked him: what happened with the meeting between the players and Leicester's owner in Seville? I'm still waiting for an answer.

Leicester defender Danny Simpson made his views clear during a Twitter spat on Wednesday

While I'm waiting, I will be interested to see how Leicester perform against Hull on Saturday. I thought Leicester were outstanding against Liverpool.

But Jurgen Klopp's side played exactly the same way as Manchester City did when they were beaten 4-2 by Leicester in December — when Ranieri was in charge — and gave Leicester an open door.

Marco Silva will make Hull a lot more difficult to beat, by playing deep, and I think almost every other team Leicester play from now on will do the same, as it is suicide to play a high defensive line against Jamie Vardy's pace.

If they overcome those difficulties, they will have no worries about staying up. But if they don't? Danny Simpson will achieve another thing I never did. Relegation!