Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BAWL OR NOTHING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Jose called out his players for a lack of heart and desire and tonight he has challenged them to deliver a win-or-bust display
AFTER complaining about their lack of heart and desire at the weekend, Jose Mourinho has told his players to prove they have both qualities tonight.
A dismal 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace piled the pressure on Mourinho, with Manchester United down in seventh place in the Premier League, already 14 points adrift of leaders Manchester City.
Yet, the Champions League can provide United with some respite from their domestic woes, with Mourinho having urged his players to treat tonight’s penultimate group game against Young Boys like a knockout tie.
The Reds boss knows there is growing unrest among United fans over his side’s failure to produce any kind of consistency in terms of performances and results this season – which is why he has demanded his players play the game of their lives tonight.
Even if United lose, they can still secure their place in the last 16 with a win in Valencia in a fortnight’s time. And Mourinho said: “How do I describe the game? I describe it like it’s not a crucial match, because if we don’t win, we still don’t depend on other results.
“But I want to play from minute one like it’s the last chance we have to qualify.
“I want to play this game as if it’s a knockout game and the team I’m going to play is a team that tries to have that happiness to cope with that little pressure. To the players that’s not a real pressure, as the reality is we have one more match to play, but I want to see a team that can cope with that
happiness to play a decisive game. So let’s play this game like a game we have to win.”
United’s comeback wins against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Juventus, coupled with victory over Everton and an impressive draw at Chelsea, suggested Mourinho’s players had rediscovered their desire, form and fighting spirit.
But Saturday’s lame effort against Palace, preceded by the abject 3-1 derby defeat away to City, has piled the pressure back on. And Mourinho added: “When you see amazing things from the players, that spirit, that ambition, that pride, obviously you believe they have it.
“But then sometimes you have matches where the profile is a little bit different and then they become frustrating.
“So I want the team to start strong, not to be waiting, then probably you or the fans think, ‘Jose told them to start slow and play nice and easy’ or to be waiting for them to react. It’s exactly the opposite – I want the team to go immediately.”
United defender Luke Shaw, who has been on the receiving end of some brutal criticism from Mourinho over the past two-and-a-half years, said it was up to the players to prove their manager wrong.
Mourinho recently suggested some young players were like “spoilt kids” and Shaw said: “It was a very big challenge for me with some of the things he’s said in the past. What he said the other day, that was more a generational thing, I don’t think it was really aimed as much at us as individuals.
“You need a thick skin playing for the manager. But this is the biggest club in the world and we as players need to take on board what’s said.”