NEW SEASON
MOURINHO HAS TO BUILD A PLATFORM TO DISPEL ANY DOUBTS HE HAS BEEN OVERTAKEN BY A NEW GENERATION OF MANAGERS
A relatively kind start presents Mourinho with a chance to burst out of the blocks James Robson
JOSE Mourinho famously forced Sir Alex Ferguson to rethink his title strategy.
And as the United manager casts his eye over the new season’s Premier League schedule, he will believe it is tailormade for him to deliver his first championship to Old Trafford.
Mourinho’s insistence on hitting the ground running and leading from the front was the springboard for his three titles in two spells at Chelsea.
It caught Ferguson out from 20042006 as Chelsea stormed to successive league crowns in Mourinho’s first reign at Stamford Bridge.
And he followed the same blueprint on his return to West London, with his 2015 champions going 14 games unbeaten from the start of the season – losing just one of their first 19 in the league.
And a relatively kind start to his second season in charge at United presents Mourinho with the chance to burst out of the blocks.
He doesn’t face any of last year’s top six until the trip to Anfield on October 14.
Before that head-to-head with Jurgen Klopp’s side, the trickiest fixture of United’s first seven games is at home to Everton.
United even have the benefit of kicking off the campaign in front of their own fans against West Ham on August 12.
Swansea, Leicester, Stoke, Everton, Southampton and Crystal Palace – on paper at least – will have Mourinho believing he can build title momentum in the opening weeks of the new season.
By comparison Chelsea have Tottenham, Everton, Arsenal and City before the end of September.
City face Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea over the same period.
Despite delivering two trophies in his first 12 months at Old Trafford, Mourinho begins the new campaign under pressure to produce a genuine title challenge.
He secured the EFL Cup and Europa League – and guided United back into the Champions League last term.
But he fell a huge 24 points short of Antonio Conte’s champions Chelsea.
This is unchartered territory for a serial titlewinner.
He was sacked seven months after Chelsea were crowned champions in 2015 – and his sixth-place finish with United last season was his lowest ever in the Premier League.
But his two trophies were evidence of his enduring ability to accumulate silverware.
Now it is a case of building on that platform to dispel any doubts he has been overtaken by a new generation of managers that include Conte, Maurico Pochettino, Pep Guardiola and Klopp.
He could hardly have asked for a better start.