Mourinho is a man under siege and should expect to face the sack anytime. This is according to former Manchester United Midfielder Paul Ince who believes the Portuguese tactician has ran out of excuses.
The Portuguese enjoyed a productive debut campaign in the Old Trafford hot-seat, with three trophies collected in 2016-17 but had a “dry” season and a transfer window to forget.
“It looks to me like Jose Mourinho is stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea,” said Ince
“Realistically, he wants to play defensively and nick a one nil win, but he knows that the fans and players at United won’t accept that. And they’re right not to.
“We’re three seasons into Mourinho’s reign now. There are no more excuses. You’ve spent a lot of money, if I was managing a team and they’d given me three years, and it was clear we weren’t up to standard, I’d expect to lose my job.”
Ince added, with Mourinho accused of having fallen behind a number of Premier League rivals: “Are we getting to the stage where United just aren’t good enough? Yes. They’re slipping too far behind, and can’t compete with the best sides anymore.
“They’re not even showing signs of improvement. In fact they’re going backwards. He bought Fred who can’t get a game, and the same goes for Alexis Sanchez. He’s disappeared! His career has gone backwards.
“I can see why there’s been criticism of the board. But, in their defence, you can’t go and spend £50 million on Fred just to stick him on the bench. You can’t keep getting away with it and expect not to be questioned.
“Mourinho is too focused on what the opposition are doing. Focus on your own team, instead. Your players look completely scared, they have no confidence at all.
“The sad fact is United have no presence any more. Liverpool do, Man City clearly do, even Chelsea in such a short time are showing what they’re made of. Why after three years are Manchester United still trying to find a winning formula under Mourinho?
“They’re trying to find a remedy, the right personnel and a style of play, and it’s failing. With Jurgen Klopp, you know the direction his team are going in. You can see what they’ve been working on in training all week. With United, they look like they don’t have a clue.
“The players don’t know what they’re doing. It’s more of a case of go out, hope we get a result, see what happens. I’m not disputing they’ve got some incredible talent, but from what I’m seeing they don’t know how to play together.”
Mourinho and United have got tough fixtures ahead that will either break or make the Old Trafford outfit. A Champions League return encounter against Juventus looms with City neighbours Manchester City also waiting for them in the Premier League. United face Everton this Sunday in a match that could as well end Mourinho’s old trafford era.