BUNCH OF LIARS
Mourinho rant at critics over his treatment of Rashford
JOSE MOURINHO branded pundits compulsive liars during an extraordinary outburst in response to criticism of the way he is handling Marcus Rashford.
The Manchester United manager arrived at his pre-match press conference armed with a raft of statistics relating to the 20-year- old’s development. Mourinho’s impassioned defence — which lasted four minutes and 36 seconds — came after Jamie Carragher suggested Rashford, suspended for today’s trip to Watford, should seek a move.
Carragher’s comments on Sky Sports this week, in which he encouraged the idea of a switch to Everton, prompted another rebuke by Mourinho, who claimed pundits are obsessed with him.
‘I can expect that on Sunday I’m going to be highly criticised for not playing him at Watford because some of the boys are really obsessed with me,’ the Portuguese manager said.
‘Some of them have a problem with some compulsive lies, so I can expect some of them will wake up on Sunday . . . and always the thing that comes to their mind is Jose Mourinho.
‘Everybody knows some of them have double salaries, they also work for the clubs and of course
they are not independent and they conduct things in the direction they want. ‘That’s natural. Not ethical, but I accept. I feel sorry for them, there are more interesting things than Jose Mourinho and Manchester United.’ Mourinho produced a piece of paper listing the games and minutes Rashford — a starter in only eight games in all competitions since Alexis Sanchez’s arrival in January — has played under him. And he aimed a pointed jibe at rival managers who, Mourinho believes, have escaped condemnation for failing to give young stars a chance. ‘In the season 2016-17, Marcus Rashford played 32 Premier League matches and 11 Europa League matches including the final. Three in the FA Cup,’ he said. ‘He had 53 appearances. But if you want minutes, he played 3,068 minutes. If you divide that by 90 it is 34.2 matches of 90 minutes in 2016-17. ‘In 2017-18 he played 35 Premier League matches, eight Champions League, five FA Cup — including the final — three League Cup and the Super Cup. He played a total of 52 matches with 2,676 minutes. Divide that by 90 minutes and it is 29.7 matches. So in all, 105 appearances, 5,744 minutes, 63.7 matches of 90 minutes — including five finals.’ Statistics compiled by Opta revealed that Rashford has actually featured more often than Mourinho suggested. No United player has appeared in more than Rashford’s 108 games since Mourinho’s arrival. More striking, however, were the aspersions cast over how a selection of other England youngsters are being treated. Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who may return to Crystal Palace on loan, was one. Liverpool’s Dominic Solanke and Everton striker Dominic CalvertLewin were the others. Mourinho said: ‘The kid is a good kid, a good player, knows what United did for him, starting in the academy, then Mr (Louis) van Gaal’s support, my support, club’s support, new contract, new shirt, and selected every single match since I was here. ‘The people who are speaking about these minutes are a bit confused. Rashford is not Dominic Solanke, he’s not Ruben Loftus-Cheek, he’s not Dominic Calvert-Lewin. ‘He’s Marcus Rashford, with an incredible number of minutes played at the highest level. In the best possible competitions. ‘United supporters — for you, and just for you — this is what we’re doing with Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay.’ ‘My plan for him is here,’ Mourinho said, pointing at his pad. ‘This is my plan, there is no other. My plan is always training well. The plan is minutes.’