Happy place
erratic as a manager before that New Year’s Day defeat at White Hart Lane.
That process came to a head when he delivered shock team instructions ahead of the Tottenham game.
Instead of the usual evening meet-up at the team hotel for a meal and an early night, Mourinho stunned staff and players by announcing that transport had been arranged at midnight from Stamford Bridge and the club’s training ground at Cobham. Players could spend the last few moments of 2014 with friends and family before finally checking in to the hotel in the early hours, before the 5.30pm kick-off.
Just three days earlier, Mourinho was showing his have not gone down. When you play well and you don’t win matches, you always hope the good results will come.
“The reality was, nobody was better than us, even when we had disappointing results. We have always been better than our opponents so we have never lost confidence.”
Mourinho was delighted Mkhitaryan is finally justifying the £26 million fee United paid Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He said: “He has a paranoia, blaming a “campaign” against his club for robbing Chelsea of two points against Southampton.
At the same time a recent book has claimed he demanded an investigation into the Manager-of-theMonth awards process after he was overlooked in favour of Leicester’s Nigel Pearson.
Wherever Mourinho’s focus was, it certainly was not on strong mentality, he was very determined to fight against his difficult adaptation and he’s doing that in the best way.
“He worked really hard, physically and tactically. We knew we were buying talent. He fought to improve and now he is playing well in the Premier League, Europa League and the League Cup. His first goal will mean a bit more happiness for him so I’m very pleased.”
Mkhitaryan, who scored a hat-trick in Odessa for former club Shakhtar Donetsk, said: formalities after the Tottenham game.
“It was difficult for him because he was very upset and didn’t speak,” Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino recalled. “I could understand that. Sometimes when you have lost you don’t want to speak to anybody.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s match, Pochettino is reluctant to criticise Mourinho. Instead “Scoring your first goal for a club can be a weight off your shoulders. I’ve been waiting a long time for this goal. My next goal has to be at Old Trafford – I want to score at home.
“In the first half, it was difficult, we couldn’t find the final pass. We weren’t playing well and we couldn’t understand each other. In the second half it was the opposite. We played well, creating space for the wingers and strikers. Wayne Rooney created space for me to score. The most important is he blames his difficulties at United for any change in his demeanour.
“Has he changed? It is too difficult to judge from a distance,” said Pochettino. “What we can see from outside is an effect of what has happened. Sometimes you are upset, sometimes you are happy. But when circumstances change you always show different moods or behaviours.
“For me he will always be special, a special coach, a Special One. We cannot forget all the titles he won. He was and is a reference for all the young managers.”
Nevertheless, since that first day of 2015, Mourinho that we won and are through to the knockout stage.”
Eric Bailly’s return after nine matches out injured was a big boost for United but former United stars Paul Scholes and Michael Owen felt the Ivory Coast centre-back should have been sent off. He had already been booked before committing another bad challenge in the final minutes.
Scholes said: “I like the nastiness about Bailly but I really think the referee has bottled it.” seems to have lost his psychological hold over rivals previously mesmerised by his presence in the dugout. Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen, below, was the subject of a typical Mourinho blast in 2013 when he was labelled a “disgrace” and a “cheat” following a clash with Fernando Torres. But Vertonghen refused to reopen old wounds. “He is a good manager and he says things in the media,” he said. “Does that wind me up? Not really. It’s part of the job. He has shown he is a very good coach and a colourful character, but football needs that.”