Jose wants stars to pitch in like Roger
JOSE MOURINHO has told his Manchester United stars to follow tennis great Roger Federer’s example after dismissing concerns over tonight’s plastic pitch.
The United boss admits his team will be at a disadvantage when they open their Champions League campaign on an artificial surface in the Stade de Suisse.
But he insists he will refuse to make it an excuse if United do not come away with an opening-game win. And he used Switzerland’s most famous sporting idol Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, as an example that having the right attitude is vital to overcoming any hurdles.
He said: “I don’t want to use the pitch – especially before the match – as a possible excuse for a not very good performance. “Everybody knows it is different. But what I had to say
I told to a UEFA coaches meeting that we had. “What can I say? I can give an example. We are in Switzerland, the home of one of the best-ever tennis players, and I’m sure he sometimes is not happy to play on such a surface.
“But he has to play and has to win. He has a favourite surface [grass] but he has to win on the surfaces he is not in love with. And we have to do it too.” Mourinho has left skipper Antonio from RICHARD TANNER in Bern
Valencia behind because he wanted to protect the Ecuador defender’s fragile knees on the surface. Diogo Dalot has travelled and could make his debut in his place.
But Mourinho is not in the mood to spare any of his other stars on a pitch that Everton and Liverpool have both secured Europa League wins on.
He added: “We need to protect Valencia’s clinical situation. Apart from that we go with everything we have and have to try and win.”
As United trained on the pitch last night, Mourinho split his players into pairs and told them to pass the ball to each other with the remark, “Get used to it.” Mourinho has lost his two previous Champions League games in Switzerland – both to Basel with Chelsea and United – but he added: “It depends on the way you look at it. Yes, I lost in Switzerland, both matches, but I won the group both times. “So if I lose here and win the group, if you give me that, I sign immediately.” After back-to-back morale-boosting Premier League away wins, Mourinho added: “I think we are improving. We have found a balance, especially in the competitive attitude. “We are creating lots of chances, changing our profile of play, the way we attack, and we find a way to protect ourselves in some specific situations. “Let’s see in our third match if we can win all of them.”