What a shower
‘Some of my players care more than others’, blasts Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has questioned how much some players care about Manchester United’s worsening plight but he does not believe his job is under immediate threat.
United have endured their worst start for 29 years and face Valencia in the Champions League at Old Trafford tonight with the pressure mounting on manager Mourinho amid deepening fears he has lost too much support in the dressing room to arrest the slide.
Asked if he thought his job was on the line, the United manager said: “No, I don’t think.”
Pressed on whether he had spoken to Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman who will determine his future, since Saturday’s shambolic 3-1 defeat at West Ham, Mourinho added: “That’s a private matter – I’m not asking you who you speak to today or this morning or your last phone call. I’m not going to answer to you.”
The insipid surrender at the London Stadium raised more questions about whether the team had stopped playing for Mourinho, and Zinedine Zidane, the former Real Madrid coach, continues to be heavily linked with the post.
But while Mourinho said he refused to believe the team were no longer trying, he said it was clear to him that some players cared more than others.
“I think that some care more than others,” he said. “Sometimes, what it looks like is exactly the opposite – you can be laughing and be the saddest person in the world and you can have a very sad face and be a fantastic actor and, inside, you can be very happy. So, sometimes what we see is not what you get.
“I see different reactions but sometimes what you see is not really what is inside. I see sad people, I see people that don’t look like they lost the game, I see so-so. But in the little two sessions of training that we had, everyone normal, everyone [showing] the desire to work and play.”
The statistics do little to suggest the players are still pulling for Mourinho, though, and the form of his most high-profile signings, not least Alexis Sanchez – who was left out of the squad against West Ham – and Paul Pogba, who was substituted, has become a serious issue.
Only Cardiff City have covered less ground than United in the Premier League this season and Mourinho’s side are fourth bottom for sprints per game. Nonetheless, Mourinho believes the players still have their own professional pride.
“The stats are the stats, one thing is the stats, another thing is the man himself,” he said.
“I’m still naive but I still don’t believe that a player is not honest,” he said. “If somebody tells me, ‘I was a football player and on one occasion I didn’t give my best’ then I change my opinion but, until someone that was a big professional player tells me, ‘I was a dishonest player’, I will always believe that the players are honest players and want to give their best.”
Nemanja Matic, one of Mourinho’s few obvious allies in the dressing room, denied that the players had downed tools but said they need to start showing that on the pitch. The Serbia midfielder described the West Ham game as the worst performance of his United career. “This game was really bad but everyone has a responsibility for that,” Matic said.
“For me, I played one of the worst games since I signed for Man United. I look in the mirror and
I want to see where I made mistakes and where I can do better. For sure, everyone does the same.
“I expect that everyone will give more than in the last game. Pressure is always there. We are not scared to play.
“Everyone has a big motivation to win against Manchester United. We know that and we have to be ready. We were not ready in the last few games.”
Mourinho said everyone from the “kit man” to the “nutritionist” to the players to himself was responsible for what happened on the pitch.
Mourinho laughed when asked about reports Zidane had contacted him to say he was not plotting behind the Portuguese’s back and playfully told his inquisitor to direct that question at the reporter who wrote the story.
Valencia hope to take advantage of United’s woes. United beat Young Boys 3-0 in their opening fixture but, with back-to-back games against Juventus to follow, they can ill afford another setback.
Mourinho has been dealt a blow with Jesse Lingard ruled out of the game with a groin injury that has been hampering him for several weeks. Ashley Young, Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo are also injured.
Asked about Sanchez’s struggles, Mourinho replied: “What do you think about Sanchez?” When the reporter said he thought Sanchez was “trying hard and it’s not happening for him”, Mourinho said: “Yes.”