Glum Jose thinks little of the Devils

Pete South

LONDON: José Mourinho was spotted in London yesterday, the morning after the night before when his Manchester United side struggled to another draw at Old Trafford against Everton.

The Red Devils scraped a point thanks to a late Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty after Phil Jagielka had given the visitors the lead in the first half.

United have drawn 12 games so far this term – more than any other side – with a league-leading nine also coming at home.

That’s enough to give Mourinho plenty to think about and he certainly looked lost in thought as he strolled through west London.

He is under pressure to deliver results at Old Trafford, with United looking increasingly likely to miss out on the top four and Champions League qualification.

They were fifth place in the Premier League, having spent 14 consecutive weeks in sixth. However, Arsenal could have leapfrogged them last night thanks to their superior goal difference and a win over West Ham.

Mourinho was less than impressed with his side’s performance against Everton and said their recent indifferent form played its part.

“When the confidence levels are not high, the quality of performance is not easy to improve,” Mourinho said. “We had to go through a short cut.

“We had to do it by the attitude point of view. We started playing in a way where you don’t feel so much the lack of confidence of some of the boys. We started playing more direct.

“In the end let’s go again for the pragmatism and the pragmatism is how many goals have Rashford, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Herrera, Pogba.

“Paul is the record of posts, it seems like he has hit the post eight, nine, 10 times – but how many goals have we scored from these attacking players? Not enough.”

Mourinho was especially critical of Luke Shaw, saying he used “his body with my brain” during his side’s 1-1 draw and urged the England international to develop a better understanding of the game.

Shaw, who was criticised for showing lack of commitment by Mourinho last weekend, was recalled to the squad for the Premier League clash against the Merseyside club at Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old was introduced from the bench in the second half with Manchester United trailing and his stoppage-time shot led to the penalty that Zlatan Ibrahimovic slotted home to earn a share of the points.

“He (Shaw) was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. The communication was possible because we were very close. I was thinking for him, when to close inside, when to open, when to press the opponent. I was making every decision for him.”

Shaw, a highly rated teenager when he joined United at the start of 2014/15 season, was making just his 16th appearance of the season. Mourinho said he wanted Shaw to accelerate his learning process to fulfil his potential at the club.

Meanwhile, striker Wayne Rooney could miss Sunday’s Premier League trip to basement side Sunderland due to an ankle problem. – Daily Mail–Reuters