Jose: my fear over pitch isn’t artificial

CHRIS WHEELER

WHEN Jose Mourinho landed on Swiss soil yesterday concerned about the fact that Manchester United will not be playing on grass, he decided to turn to Roger Federer for inspiration. United begin their Champions League campaign on the Stade de Suisse’s artificial surface in Bern tonight after Mourinho claimed in Geneva last week it gives Young Boys a ‘huge advantage’. He left captain Antonio Valencia at home as the player’s fragile knees will not stand the rigours of a plastic pitch, and trained here, not at Carrington, to get United used to the unfamiliar conditions. However, perhaps wary he was giving his players an excuse to lose, Mourinho used the example of Switzerland’s favourite son — and eight-time Wimbledon champion — Federer to tell them to make the best of the situation. ‘Everybody knows it’s different but what I had to say I told last week in Geneva,’ said Mourinho, who could be heard telling his players to ‘get used to it’ during passing drills in Bern last night. ‘I don’t want to use that as a possible excuse. We are in Switzerland, home of one of the best ever tennis players, and I’m pretty sure that the big man sometimes is not happy to play on such a surface. But he has to play and has to win. ‘We decided not to play Valencia because his knee is not a knee that needs an artificial pitch. Apart from that, we go with everything we have.’ The current artificial pitch was laid in 2014 and didn’t stop Romelu Lukaku scoring a hat-trick here for Everton in the Europa League. Young Boys boss Gerardo Seoane doesn’t think it will cause United problems in their first meeting with the Swiss champions, who have made a perfect start to their domestic season. ‘It’s clear they are not used to pitches like this,’ Seoane said. ‘So in the beginning it will be a special feeling. They have the quality and technique to play on this pitch. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.’