Jose Mourinho has hinted that Manchester United are no longer “expected to win the trophy” as the former Red Devils boss continues to build his reputation in Italy with Roma.
Jose Mourinho has said that before Eric Ten Hague’s arrival at Old Trafford, Manchester United were no longer ‘expected to win the trophy’.
Mourinho was the last manager to bring the silverware to Old Trafford as United failed to successfully replicate the 2016/17 season under his Portuguese. The former Chelsea boss has won the Community Shield, Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season at United; Louis van Gaal (FA Cup) is the only other manager to lead United to victory since Sir Alex Ferguson resigned in 2013.
Despite his stunning start to Manchester, things went awry and Mourinho was left out of the lead for just two and a half years. After being sacked from his next job at Tottenham, the 59-year-old Roma have restored their reputation and are preparing for the Europa Conference League final – the Italian club’s first European final in 31 years. United, meanwhile, are still trying to find a winning formula and are planning summer changes under Ten Hague.
Eric Ten Hag is quickly looking around the house to solve the problem of Man UTD
There have been suggestions that Mourinho is too old-fashioned for modern football, but the icon and Carlo Ancelotti – who have faced similar criticism since staying at Everton – have silenced their critics. And Mourinho has hinted that the problem was with his former clubs rather than himself.
He said: “I think Carlo Ancelotti’s problem was that you were not going to win the Champions League as Everton manager. And with me, you know, people saw me take jobs where they thought I could win the trophy, but they weren’t where we were expected to pick up the trophy.
“But when you have such a successful career, so to speak, cyclically, you can expect it, people can say it. Personally, I’m not worried about it [being replaced by pathetic coaches]. I don’t think so and focus on the generation.” No, I’m focused on quality. ”
He continued: “It’s a question of quality, of inspiration, of emotion. If you don’t have emotion, you’re dead. Without the pressure of running a big game, you’re at the end. I know myself very well, I know Carlito very well, but there are other examples that We can
“But we’re the ones who will say it when we want to stop, and I’m afraid people will have to wait a long time to say it’s over!”
Mourinho’s eyebrows were raised when he took charge of Roma after being sacked by Tottenham, but the former Inter Milan boss has enjoyed a successful year in Rome. And while he acknowledged that he “enjoys the project,” he dismissed any talk of a term like Ferguson’s.
Thomas Tuchel is planning a major Chelsea squad revision under the new owners
Mourinho added: “Sir Alex Ferguson has coached Manchester United for over 20 years, I believe. I’m 59 now, so plus 20 years will be 79 – maybe a little more! It will be difficult. Maybe by the time I’m 70 .
“But I understand your question. I really like it here. You can see it, you can feel it. I took a project with a different profile from my predecessors. It was a three year project. We will look into the matter.” I’ll be here three years, I don’t even think about leaving so soon.
“But sometimes projects get closer to what you think over time and sometimes they get farther away from it, but football today. So I’m here now, I’ll be here next season and then we’ll see what happens. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there. “