Boss is at risk of losing another dressing room

LISTENING to Jose Mourinho’s criticism of his team on Saturday night, he sounded like a pundit. It was a perfect summary of Manchester United’s display against Brighton. Sometimes Mourinho can seem spiteful, but this assessment was more controlled. By demanding more character, desire and personality, he was trying to get a reaction from his players. But Mourinho is a manager, not a pundit. His words would have had just as much impact in the privacy of the dressing room. It is not unusual for a manager to point to an individual performance — as Mourinho did with Nemanja Matic — to highlight the level the rest of the group need to reach. When you start discussing the players’ flaws in public, it only invites more scrutiny and pressure. Some may have felt alienated by the way their manager was being so generous to Matic. Mourinho has lost dressing rooms at Chelsea and Real Madrid. He knows he is walking a tightrope but he is doing whatever it takes to get a performance. Trying to get a reaction is one thing. Humiliating his players is another. I do not like the way Luke Shaw has been treated. Mourinho should consider his players as sons. How would he react if his own child was being treated this badly? Because Mourinho did not play at the highest level, he will simply not understand the effect that being hooked at half-time has on a player. Other players at Old Trafford may look at Shaw and think: ‘That could be me next.’ By behaving this way, Mourinho risks driving a wedge between the squad and the staff.