The recent weeks have been far from pleasant for Manchester United and manager Jose Mourinho. Subject to an upset at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion conceding 3 and scoring 2 away from home. The upset was followed by a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. United was arguably the better team in defeat at Old Trafford but that did not stop criticism from flowing in.
NEVILLE: UTD SHOULDN'T SACK JOSE MID-SEASON@GNev2 is adamant #MUFC should not consider sacking Jose Mourinho until the end of the season at the earliest
👉👉 https://t.co/llVXCHu9J2 pic.twitter.com/n8YNZsedLD
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 28, 2018
United have been criticized for their attitude following their Brighton defeat. The football pundits have also been hitting out at Mourinho, suggesting that his defensive tactics are unsuitable for United.
The press has also have been putting pressure on Mourinho. Following the Tottenham defeat. Mourinho, being as good as he is with the press, hasn’t let the pressure affect him or his team.
In the post-match press conference after the bitter Tottenham defeat, Mourinho had an outburst of emotions. He went on to remind that while he has won 3 Premier League titles, other current managers have collectively won lesser titles. After having stated the facts he demanded that the media dealt with him showing more respect. Following the comments, he stormed out of the press conference.
This behavior of his has raised the question if the pressure of the job has gotten the better of him? But Mourinho is an experienced manager. Having faced these kinds of pressure in the past, he knows how to deal with the pressure of losing when in charge of a big job.
His outburst was more of a move to deflect the pressure that was due to come having faced two consecutive losses early in the season. He has not let the pressure of the losses get to his players and get the better of them. Instead, his antics have somehow united the team as a solid performance away at Burnley helped United earn 3 points.
The solid Burnley performance and the desire shown by the players might turn out to be the key for United to go on and challenge for the title.
Nemanja Matic has recently spoken out in Jose’s defense, claiming that the Special One knows what he is doing.
With Mourinho in charge of the team rumors of Zinedine Zidane replacing him at Old Trafford are already afloat. It is, of course, unfair and unhealthy for both the manager and the team for such rumors to be going around. With Mourinho still at the helm, such reports can only distract the present crop of players and further deteriorate the performances.
Instead of searching for replacements, the Board should as of now show support for Mourinho. It only makes sense to keep faith in Mourinho going into the season. The team that Mourinho has is a team that he has built and has the mentality that he had been professing. He does possess the necessary qualities to guide the club to glory, provided he gets his players.
This is where the board failed him. Most of the players he wanted has not been provided to him. He had to deal with makeshift players in previous seasons. This season he finally has a team that has no need of such makeshift players.
Mourinho appreciated United fans after Spurs, according to Sky Sports News,
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“All our fans don’t read papers, all our fans don’t watch television, all our fans are more intelligent than that,
They answer in an absolutely amazing way. I don’t think it’s normal for a team to lose 3-0 at home, and for the supporters to react in that way.”
– Mourinho after Spurs defeat[/perfectpullquote]
With just 4 games into the season, it is unfair to judge Mourinho. It’ll be in the best interest of the team and the manager that Jose gets given more time with the team and use his experience from the past to guide United to glory.
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