Jose must move on and prove to us he’s still a top-class boss

IT was painfully clear what Jose Mourinho was saying when he claimed on Friday night he is not a manager any more – and clear where his anger was directed.

Yet, in many ways, I believe this season will now go a long way to showing precisely how good a manager he is... or otherwise.

I’ve been around the game long enough to understand what’s going on at Old Trafford.

Mourinho (right) desperately wanted an instant transfer-window fix this summer – because Manchester City winning the title has put his position under pressure.

You can’t blame him for that. His job is on the line, so he will do everything he can to get the players he thinks he needs to save it – even if that means slagging off just about every section of his current squad.

Yet, at the same time, if I’m taking a view on the situation, then I have to side with the United board, because I think it’s actually quite refreshing that a club of their size and stature are making a stand and not being held to ransom in the market.

They are not being held to ransom by their manager, either.

My reading of the situation is that Ed Woodward – or the owners – have quietly briefed that they won’t be doing short-term fixes any more, like the frankly ridiculous spending on Alexis Sanchez.

What did he cost, around £100m all in? For a guy they didn’t need and who has no real sell-on value.

You can’t sustain that, especially when you look around at the sort of policies your immediate rivals are pursuing.

I said last week that the most intimidating thing about City – to their rivals – is the age of their squad and the profile of their spending.

They have SO many players who are 24 or under and they have bought so much young talent.

Riyad Mahrez got the headlines this summer, but the rest of their spending was on young players. The kid they got from PSG, Claudio Gomes, is only 18, however, I’m told he’s not just for the future, but actually now. And he’s good, believe me. It’s not just City. Liverpool have done the same if you look at their profile and Tottenham have been doing it for years... with their net spending putting United’s transfer policy since Ferguson left into stark context.

But back to Mourinho. He inherited some fine young talent and now he has to try and develop it, instead of signing players to replace it.

You look at the examples of both Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, and it is clear all was not right there. I think the evidence suggests Mourinho wanted to bring Ivan Perisic in, so his criticism of Martial is easy to understand. I don’t know what was going on with Pogba last season, but it is absolutely clear that Mourinho has been told by the board there is no way he or any of the younger players will be sold – and it’s time to work with them. Making Pogba captain shows the manager has got that message. Now we will see when he can actually manage them, to get the best out of them. This is not me bashing him. People always say he has spent money, but look at what he has won and achieved throughout his career – that shows he has something special. Now it is time to prove that to his critics. He can’t just bring in instant fixes, so he has to manage the players he has and take them to a different level. Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp have done that – now it’s his turn. We didn’t need the World Cup to know how good Pogba can be, and maybe against Leicester, his impressive performance showed Mourinho that backing him can pay dividends. Martial could be in the same bracket. He looked like the future of a brilliant France team only a couple of years ago, and the talent is still there. It just needs bringing out. The same with Luke Shaw, Eric Bailly, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, even. I don’t think Mourinho is going to change his ways. His dig at the board after the Leicester game told you that – and I don’t think he will change his tactics too much because he will still want to close games down, and close them out, especially against the better teams. Again, the game on Friday told you that. But he has been a top-class manager and now it is time to remind people of that. For once, there can be no criticism of buying your way to the title. He has a good team, with depth in his squad and outstanding players such as Pogba. He needs to work with it. He said, after the Leicester game, that it is time to get on with it – and that’s quite right. Time to prove to people, once and for all, Jose, that you’ve still got it.