Before United’s midweek game against Everton, Jose Mourinho was in no mood to be playing his cards close to his chest. When asked about the notable absence of Micky T, Jose responded in a no-nonsense style by saying ” he had played poorly during the last game “. Only days before, the boss had publicly dug out Luke Shaw for his lack of commitment during training. ” Shaw at this moment is behind Rojo, Darmian, Young and Blind “. Jose will want to be careful as to not upset too many of the players by giving them a public bashing.
During Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea, it was reported that Jose had lost the dressing room. Renowned for his tight nit spirit and protective nature over his players, Mourinho had seemingly lost all respect from the players that eight months previous, had lifted the Premier League trophy. Opening day drama involving club doctor, Eva Carneiro, hardly helped, and with a black cloud looming from that day over Stamford Bridge, just months later, Mourinho found himself with his P45 and Chelsea sat in sixteenth position.
Sir Alex Ferguson was always very close to his players. Anything that went on inside the dressing room stayed there. I can’t remember a time that Fergie would come out before or after a game and say, “so and so was poor today” or something along those lines. Granted, you kind of knew who Sir Alex had pointed the finger of blame at for a certain defeat, as they might not make the squad for a week or two. Everything was always kept in house. Mourinho at this moment is playing a dangerous game. For all the back-slapping and high-fiving that goes on after a victory, Jose can’t now afford to ruin whatever confidence is left in this United side, by then calling people out before or after games.
Still fighting on two fronts, the Europa League campaign and the battle to squeeze into fourth spot, Mourinho needs to have high spirits and morale, especially as the injury list seems to be increasing by the day! Victory in the Europa League final seals an automatic Champions League spot, and with United stumbling in the league, like a drunk making his way home after closing, fourth spot seems unlikely at this stage.
Jose Mourinho is a manager at a crossroads. Sacked at his last club and now after spending an obscene amount of money on players needs to deliver something a little more special than just the League Cup. Its certainly not time to jump on the ” Mourinho Out ” bandwagon, but unless home performances next season do not improve, then its going to be very tough for the manager to be able to critics his players, the same players he will need to keep him in a job.