Jose assistants plot more attacking style
JOSE Mourinho’s new assistants Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna are becoming increasingly popular with the United squad.
Sources have told M.E.N. Sport the players believe the two young coaches have played an instrumental role in United’s more attacking approach this campaign.
The Reds have leaked 21 goals in their 12 Premier League matches amid their more open style, although they have only scored 20 times and Mourinho has bemoaned their lack of a ‘killer instinct.’
While certain players continue to harbour reservations about elements of Mourinho’s management, the squad has welcomed the input of Carrick, 36, and McKenna, 32.
Mourinho offset the departure of long-time assistant Rui Faria in the summer by appointing Carrick as his assistant manager and promoting McKenna, previously the Under-18 coach.
Mourinho’s faith in his younger coaches has been so swift he has tasked them with advising players during matches while he takes a back seat.
With United 1-0 down in the firsthalf at Bournemouth, Mourinho delegated Carrick to speak with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial during a stoppage.
Northern Irishman McKenna joined United from Tottenham as their academy coach in September 2016 and oversaw a drastic upturn in fortunes as the U18s won the Premier League North last term. McKenna has helped develop Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood, just three of the teenagers Mourinho included in his pre-season tour squad last summer.
McKenna was an 18-year-old in the Tottenham academy in 2004 - the same summer Carrick arrived at the club. The pair remain particularly interested in the maturity of United’s youngsters and both watched a portion of the U19s’ Youth League win over Young Boys in Bern hours before the first-team’s Champions League tie in September.
Last month, Carrick told the M.E.N.: “The biggest thing is he [Mourinho] is a winner. He’s desperate to win, he’s won wherever he’s gone. We’ve won trophies since he’s been here, we’ve got to win more, that’s what we strive towards but that’s the biggest thing for me, he’s a winner.
“He’s been unbelievable to me, he’s helped me, gone out of his way to make me feel a part of his team, and trust is the biggest thing, he’s trusted me.
“So that’s a huge thing for him to do and, hopefully, I can repay him for that trust.”
Mourinho said: “The approach was much more defensive [last season] and with a much more defensive approach you can hide better your weaknesses.
“So when the team is really defensive and you have a more defensive mind then you base the work on that, then the team doesn’t develop enough in other areas but the team managed to get results based on that.
“I’m trying to find a balance where we develop the talented players that we have.”