Jose Mourinho lost the vast majority of the Manchester United squad’s support after a pre-match meeting at Southampton at the start of the month.
United came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at St Mary’s on December 1 but Mourinho chaired a pre-match meeting with the squad where he lambasted certain players and scapegoated the popular Paul Pogba.
A dressing room source told the MEN that Mourinho had ‘lost 90 per cent of the squad’s support’ in the wake of the Southampton match even though United had avoided defeat. Romelu Lukaku and Marcos Rojo are believed to have been among a handful of players who remained onside with Mourinho.
The MEN understands United were concerned that Mourinho’s ego was jeopardising the harmony at the club, where he stripped Pogba of the second captain’s role in September.
United also believe they sufficiently backed Mourinho with £358.7million in the transfer market on 11 players during his time in charge and that they expected a greater measure of progress within his two-and-a-half years in charge of the club. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward informed Mourinho of the club’s decision to dismiss him at Carrington on Tuesday morning after the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.
The manner of Mourinho’s dismissal is remarkably similar to that of David Moyes’s in 2014, when United lost on Merseyside to Everton on Sunday, the first-team had a day off on Monday before the manager was dismissed on Tuesday morning.
Woodward is set to appoint an interim coach until the end of the season within the next few days. A source said the change of manager was partly made to ‘put smiles back on people’s faces’ at the club after the turbulent Mourinho tenure. The caretaker coach is due to be in charge for the Saturday tea-time trip to Cardiff.
United insist they could still make signings in the January transfer window as they attempt to salvage their season. The MEN understands United have an existing list of targets and if one is available in January they could potentially make a move for them. However, United concede the New Year is a difficult time to sign players and that the majority of clubs do not want to sell.