PSST... heard the one about how joking Jose turned United round
WHEN Manchester United went to Anfield in October and stifled Liverpool in a goalless draw, Jose Mourinho was mired in the club’s worst start to a season in the Premier League era.
The bitter enemies meet at Old Trafford on Sunday with a resurgent United on their longest winning run since 2009 and slight favourites to beat Liverpool.
No wonder Mourinho is smiling again. Sportsmail looks at how he has turned things round at Old Trafford.
GAME FOR A LAUGH
HANGING off a flat-screen television in the coaches’ room at Carrington, next door to the manager’s office, several miniature Mourinho toys are suspended comically by the neck on red string.
Until recently an unflattering picture of the United boss was also on display by his staff. it offers an insight into the private world of Mourinho and his inner circle; one very different from the brooding and sometimes surly public persona of the Portuguese coach.
Practical jokes and high jinks are commonplace under Mourinho, in contrast to the regimented rule of Louis van gaal. That levity has helped him to bond with his players since the dark days of November when he was sent off for the second time as United manager and at times cut an unhappy figure.
No doubt the winning run has lifted spirits, but Mourinho and his assistant Rui Faria have done their bit to lighten the mood. ‘They’re like a double act,’ said one source. ‘ They’re always winding people up. it’s constant.’
Trainers and T-shirts go missing. Funny pictures of players are printed off the internet and pinned up around Carrington.
When United gathered for a team meeting at the Lowry Hotel before Christmas, Mourinho and Faria noticed that some props had been left in an adjacent room where dinner guests had been entertained by a comedian and a magician.
Soon after, Faria appeared wearing a policeman’s helmet while Mourinho brandished an over- sized yellow phone which they used to put on a comedy routine for the players. it is not what they were used to under Van gaal or, indeed, Sir Alex Ferguson.
MR MOTIVATOR
MOURINHO’S bond with his players has always been a vital ingredient in his success and it is starting to reap rewards at United. He will move among them while they eat in the canteen at Carrington, chatting and joking with the squad in any one of the six languages he knows.
The hug that Marouane Fellaini gave him after scoring against Hull on Tuesday was that of a man genuinely grateful for his manager’s support this season.
Mourinho is getting the best out of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial after a difficult start, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have revived their United careers, Ander Herrera has emerged as a key player and Paul Pogba is starting to play like an £89million man.
The 53-year-old has also realised the importance of Michael Carrick to United, which is likely to earn the veteran midfielder a new contract.
‘in terms of the confidence and the mentality we are showing, it is the best time since i’ve been here,’ said Mata, who did not have the best of relationships with Mourinho at Chelsea. ‘He has changed. it’s a different environment, club and squad. You always play depending on the different players you have.’
PREP TALK
AS MUCH as he is game for a laugh, Mourinho’s professionalism and preparation have been a major factor in United’s revival. Every day he leaves the Lowry Hotel for Carrington, taking a shortcut down a farm track which knocks 20 minutes off his commute to the training ground. He meets coaching staff around 8.30am, enjoying egg on toast and tea or coffee while discussing the day ahead.
it is a tight-knit group who have stayed with him for much of his career; they regularly play cards together — usually whist — on the team bus or at the Lowry.
Mourinho trusts them implicitly but still takes a hands- on role in training at Carrington, where the first team train on a surface identical to the Old Trafford Desso pitch.
After complaining about the repetitive training under Van gaal, the players have been reinvigorated by Mourinho’s methods which make his sessions more enjoyable and productive. His attention to d detail extends to giving them a m month’s notice of the training schedule, allowing them to arrange family time well in advance.
it also means that Mourinho can plan regular trips back to London to see his wife Matilde and their two children.
MEN OF WAR
MOURINHO has always wanted fighters and appears to have fostered a real spirit at United.
‘He’s worked out which players will go to war for him and those who won’t,’ said one source.
There is no underestimating the importance of the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace a month ago when Zlatan ibrahimovic scored a late winner. On the journey back, Mourinho was said to be the happiest anyone has seen him since he joined United.
The sense of togetherness has grown from there, with the number of late goals in recent games showing that United are once again a team who will fight to the end.
TAKE ZLAT
UNITED knew they were signing a top striker when ibrahimovic arrived in the summer, but they could not have expected the 35-year-old Swede to score 18 goals by now.
ibrahimovic is not only the focal point for the attack, he has become a galvanising figure off the pitch as well. Natural cliques develop at any club — United’s English contingent going to Winter Wonderland together before Christmas is one example — but ibrahimovic has emerged as a popular, senior figure who has helped the squad gel.
The other players are quite comfortable going to ibrahimovic’s personal physio Dario Fort for treatment on occasions rather than United’s own medical staff.
‘if the collective does well, then the individuals will do well,’ said ibrahimovic yesterday. ‘i have no individual targets because i did that already. i conquered England — it took three months.’
LUCK OF THE DRAW
MOURINHO bemoaned his bad fortune after United were held to a series of draws by Stoke, Burnley, Arsenal, West Ham and Everton that cost them vital points in the title race.
Lady Luck has been a little kinder to United since ibrahimovic set up Pogba to score in the pivotal win at Crystal Palace a month ago, despite legitimate appeals for handball and offside.
No doubt Mourinho would argue that United have earned a break, and ibrahimovic ( West Ham), Mkhitaryan ( Sunderland) and Mata (Hull) have also scored from marginally offside positions in recent weeks.