Mourinho needs to adapt at Man United, he’s playing a risky game

Mourinho needs to adapt at Man United, he’s playing a risky game

Manchester United have improved significantly under the guidance of Jose Mourinho this season, as the Red Devils have put together a remarkable unbeaten run in the Premier League and remain in the fight for a top-four finish.

Having already lifted the League Cup at Wembley, Manchester United are also pursuing success in the Europa League as they prepare for tonight’s semi-final clash with Celta Vigo. However, there is issues with Mourinho’s management.

The Portuguese boss has always been known to be outspoken and confrontational but he’s losing support in the media this season, which has always been one of Manchester United’s biggest positive influences.


Mourinho’s decisions to point fingers and criticise the fitness of players like Luke Shaw has been brought into scrutiny recently, with ex-Blackburn Rovers man Chris Sutton accusing the former Chelsea boss as ‘humiliating his squad’.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Sutton said:

“To call them out for not playing through the pain barrier is deeply unfair. “Managers I have played under would say things in the dressing room but back you in public. Mourinho just shoots from the hip. I think further down the line that leads to trouble,”

“Having said that, in my opinion, what he is saying to the Manchester United board is, ‘I don’t want these players at the club. I need to replace them’. He is not daft – he knows what he is saying.”

Mourinho’s aggressive approach has always seemed to work for the Portuguese boss, who has enjoyed success in two periods with Chelsea, in his homeland with Porto and with Inter Milan in Italy, but it only works when things are going swimmingly.

Whilst Manchester United’s season this term can be seen as successful, they have still fallen short of fighting for glory in the Premier League and those failings have come following an extravagant summer spending spree.

Mourinho also seems to pick out the English players for criticism regularly, with Luke Shaw in the firing line many times this season and both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones being singled out following the weekend’s draw with Swansea City.

The media is always very biased with it’s views towards English players, particularly young talents, and Mourinho’s actions could lead to a major u-turn in the media’s perception of Manchester United, as they’ve always been fairly positive with the club.

Should Mourinho lose support in the media, he’d be drawing a huge target on his back and he’d be advised to reign things in over the next few months to focus on the business in hand- especially if he’s trying to lure big players to the club.

Put it this way, if you were attracting the interest of Manchester United and you saw Mourinho consistently throw his players under the bus, you’d probably have second thoughts about moving to Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s public tactics worked a decade ago but Premier League football has since evolved and Mourinho needs to follow suit. Otherwise, he could end up isolating himself at Manchester United.