Jose staring down barrel

– After a close-season of discontent, Manchester United’s dismal performance in their 3-2 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday only intensified the chorus of criticism.

But with the transfer window closed, manager Jose Mourinho (below) has no alternative to trying to draw on his experience and skill to get the best he can out of a team many believe lack the quality and character to be genuine title contenders. The big question is does Mourinho still have what it takes to turn around a side outfought by a team who finished 15th last season?

Former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, now a pundit on Sky Sports television, believes Mourinho has a very tough task.

“As a manager, you have to push them and push them to the point where you are almost falling out with them but you cannot cross that line otherwise you end up falling out with two or three of the top men and they can get you out of the door,” Souness said.

He was scathing in his evaluation of the squad at Old Trafford.

“Prior to Fergie (former manager Alex Ferguson) going to United, this is the most average group of players I’ve ever seen at the club. They’ve got absolutely nothing about them.”

While Souness’ association with Liverpool may lead some to question his objectivity over their arch-rivals, his latter point is one former United great Paul Scholes agrees with.

“There’s a lack of leaders in the team,” Scholes told Australia’s Optus Sport.

“We thought Paul Pogba might be the ideal candidate to be that leader but he wasn’t there today. He had another really poor game. He’s so inconsistent,” he said.

Mourinho had made public his disappointment at the club’s failure to bring in an additional central defender and the poor performance of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof supported his position.

But as critics of Mourinho have been quick to point out – both those central defenders were signed by the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager. – AFP

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