Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JOSE: BETTER OR VERSE?
JOSE MOURINHO will have allowed himself a wry smile as he settled into his seat on Manchester United’s charter flight back from Lisbon on Wednesday.
The plane had not even taken off when word filtered through that Chelsea coach Antonio Conte had reacted to his calculated barb about rival bosses “crying” over injuries.
But what was behind Mourinho’s latest jibe and why now, after a fine start to the season that sees United just two points off top spot in the Premier League?
The roots of it can be found in his anger that he’s seen as the ‘enemy of football’ with a safetyfirst mindset.
Mourinho feels he does not get enough credit for nullifying opponents, complaining in the wake of United’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool and a 1-0 win at Benfica on Wednesday that “defending properly is seen as a crime when it is not.”
United midfielder Nemanja Matic, who also played under Mourinho at Chelsea, offered an insight into his manager’s methods when he said the 54-year-old always wants more, an approach that can lead to friction between him and players.
“Mourinho is the best coach I’ve ever worked with,” said Matic. “But sometimes it isn’t easy to work with him because he always demands more.
“Even when you play the best match in your career, he says that you can play better in the next match.
“He’s created an excellent group of players with huge potential and everything is there for us to achieve good results.”
And that is key for Mourinho. Results are what matter, even if it means parking the bus.
As he memorably said after last season’s Europa League triumph: “There are many poets in football, but poets don’t win many titles.”