Red Devils face major overhaul after wreckage of Mourinho era
11
Points gap between fourth-placed Chelsea and Man United
london — As Manchester United survey the wreckage of Jose Mourinho’s reign, the troubled club’s hierarchy would be wise to swallow their pride and copy the successful blueprint established by bitter rivals Manchester City.
Mourinho was sacked by United on Tuesday as the Portuguese coach paid the price for the team’s worst start to a season since 1990.
Now the focus at Old Trafford turns to the search for Mourinho’s successor and the club’s plan to escape the rut they have been stuck in since Alex Ferguson retired after winning their most recent Premier League title in 2013.
United, languishing 11 points adrift of the top four, hope to announce
a caretaker manager, with strong links to the club, to see out the rest of the season within 48 hours.
Regardless of that temporary solution, it is the long-term direction of an increasingly rudderless club that most concerns United fans.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Mourinho, with former Real Madrid boss Zinedine
Zidane also a strong contender.
United legend Ryan Giggs, now the Wales boss, and Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe have also been mentioned.
Former United defender Laurent Blanc and Carlos Queiroz, who served as one of Ferguson’s assistants, are said to be in the frame for the caretaker position.
Whoever comes in must heal the rifts created by Mourinho, who was the author of his own downfall following damaging feuds with Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Valencia. The former Chelsea boss also squabbled with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward after the club failed to land his top transfer targets. Patrice Evra, a former
United left-back, called for the eventual new boss to bring harmony back to the dressing room.
“Let’s focus on rebuilding something solid instead of being in a playground,” he tweeted. “Doing this is only disrespecting the badge. From now we only need positivity.”
While Mourinho once again proved his acerbic style of management cannot be sustained over the long term, the club’s former defender Gary Neville believes United’s powerbrokers must take their share of the blame.
And he says Woodward and United owners the Glazer family need to sanction root-and-branch reform of the club’s football operations. —