Mourinho demands respect after United’s run
JOSE MOURINHO thinks it’s time his Manchester United players began to receive more credit after putting together a run that is beginning to bear the hallmarks of his other championship teams.
United face West Brom today chasing a sixth consecutive league victory, with previous scalps including Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
However, those results have been overshadowed by a Champions League exit against Sevilla and the feeling that United start big matches too negatively, as they did in the 3-2 comeback win at City last weekend.
‘It is really hard for people to praise the team and to praise the boys. I think it’s very clear,’ said Mourinho.
‘I understand if people have a go at us when we don’t play well. I never complained, for example, after the second match against Sevilla. When we do good things, there is always a “but”. After the Sevilla match, only a good group with good people could do what they did, which is win every match after that.
‘The easy thing would have been to collapse in the league. It hasn’t happened and I think that is the proof of what this group is.’
United’s run indicates that Mourinho’s toughening up process is working and he knows from his own history all about momentum. In 2012, Real Madrid beat Barcelona to La Liga having won 11 of their last 13 games the previous season.
Chelsea were indifferent in the first season of his second spell but beat Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool in the run-in and were champions 12 months later in 2015.
‘We are going to finish I believe fourth, third or second, hopefully second, and next season we are going to try and improve but let’s see what happens,’ Mourinho added.