Jose insists United will lap up Anfield hostility
JOSE MOURINHO thinks his Manchester United side will thrive on the hostile atmosphere they will face at Anfield.
The Red Devils take on Liverpool in today’s lunchtime kick-off, a trip former United defender Mikael Silvestre likened to “going to hell”.
But the Portuguese does not see it that way at all.
“You know, this is quite funny for me because I think when people speak about big atmospheres, it looks like we don’t like it, it looks like it’s a problem for us to face a big atmosphere,” Mourinho said.
“(But) this is what we want. I am surprised that you speak about (going to Anfield) in a negative way, I am even more surprised when I hear former, big players speak about atmospheres like something sinister, something that worries (us).
“It motivates us, it is something that we want, it is something that if we could have every match, we would.
“You know, when Barcelona played against Las Palmas with an empty stadium (at the start of October), do you think the players were happy with that? Do you think Las Palmas’ players wouldn’t prefer to play with the Nou Camp full of people and a great atmosphere?
“We are speaking about Old Trafford, in this case Anfield, like it’s a big problem. It’s a satisfaction, that’s what we want
“I never see a player complain ‘oh, this atmosphere was very strong’. We complain when the atmosphere is flat.
“When we play at home and we don’t see big enthusiasm in the people, we complain.
“We go to where we want to go, we go to play against a big team with a big tradition in an amazing stadium with great tradition.
“We know that the fans have huge animosity against Manchester United historically, but this is what we want, so we are very happy to have one more opportunity in our careers to play in these beautiful conditions.”
The United boss will be without midfielders Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and almost certainly Marouane Fellaini, as well as Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The latter missed a glorious chance to snatch a win at Anfield last term, when Mourinho’s defence-minded approach came under scrutiny.
“Yeah, this time I will play with one defender and nine strikers,” he said.
“That’s for sure. We play with one guy behind and then we go with a new system, even an evolution of the old WM (tactical system) and we play with nine strikers. Don’t worry about it.”
Mourinho did speak of performances and confidence being better than this time around, while their position has also markedly improved – even if they have yet to face a top-10 side.
“The only thing I would say is that we dropped points last season in many matches that you consider you would win before you start to play, you win in the tunnel because you wear a certain shirt – and we lost a lot of these points,” he said.
“This season we drew against Stoke but we managed in the other matches to get the points.” WHO would want to be a referee is an often posed footballing question yet surely it has never been more pertinent than going into today’s final round of Umbro Quadrangular Tournament games.
Respective whistlers Graham Grainger and Declan Troy could emerge as central figures as an outside chance exists of both Northern Ireland and Scotland finishing with the same points, goal difference and goals scored after the sides’ 2-2 draw earlier this week.
If the Irish – currently ahead of Scotland by a better goals differential of +3 – beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 and the Scots get a 4-0 Newlandsfield victory against the Isle of Man then a tie-breaker comes into play based on each side’s accumulation of yellow and red cards throughout the tournament.
Scotland currently have four yellow cards against their name but the prospect of a card lottery is not being entertained by boss Keith Burgess who insists he will throw caution to the wind.
He said: “The rivalry between the two Irish sides means their head to heads are typically close fought contests, however we have to look to doing our own job rather than relying on a result elsewhere.
“That’s how it should be and even though our players have come through two physically demanding games, we have prepared for yet another tough shift against the Isle of Man who will undoubtedly be determined to go out on a high.
“They may have lost both their games up to now but reports indicate they have deserved better so we need to put in another top notch performance to have any chance of getting the desired outcome.
“Northern Ireland hold the upper hand so the onus is firmly on us to win - and to win convincingly.
“It’s a big ask at the end of such a tasking week, however I have to say the spirit among the guys continues to be nothing short of terrific and I sense we have a big game in us.”
Budgie reflected on his side’s last gasp 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night and said: “The Republic lads played for a draw but I felt we absolutely pummelled them into submission though it looked like we were not going to get a reward until Ross Brash conjured up our winning goal right at the death.
“The euphoria among the players afterwards was just unbelievable and it says everything when Colin Spence – a five times Scottish Cup winner with Auchinleck Talbot – said he had never known such a feeling in his career.”
The Scots gaffer admitted he would refresh his line-up for today’s showdown.
“David McKenna, Ewan Moyes and Phil Johnston are the only three players not to have started and I have no fears whatsoever about giving them their chance.
“I also have to weigh up what our previous games have taken out of the other guys but it’s fair to say Craig Pettigrew will lead the team out again as he and big Dean Hoskins have been rock solid.”