Premier League pundit Kevin Kilbane has hit out at José Mourinho’s handling of affairs at Manchester United, claiming that his days are numbered.
The former Republic of Ireland international spoke to us about the chasm that has developed between Mourinho and the players at Old Trafford and how the manager is now on borrowed time:
“Mourinho is digging himself into a hole. The performances against West Ham and Valencia were very, very poor and you can’t get away from that. I heard Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand question the players’ desire, but I don’t think it’s a question of them not caring. It’s just a clear disconnection between the players and the manager. The way I see it now, Mourinho has no time left.”
Kilbane claimed that the former Chelsea boss wasn’t well prepared for the step up to a club like Manchester United, despite his experience with Real Madrid in Spain:
“For a long time now, not just in the short term, he hasn’t coped with the job. He may have experienced a bit of it at Real Madrid, but surely he knew when he took the United job that there would be more stories written and more scrutiny; much more than at Chelsea, no matter what he thinks.
The verbal spats with his players aren’t a new thing and that’s his way of trying to get something out of them.”
“But when it comes to the media, he hasn’t handled himself well at all. His attitude and body language when he first arrived at Chelsea was totally different; we’re not seeing that at Manchester United. He looks a lot more uncomfortable in this job.”
The former Republic of Ireland international spoke to us about the chasm that has developed between Mourinho and the players at Old Trafford and how the manager is now on borrowed time:
“Mourinho is digging himself into a hole. The performances against West Ham and Valencia were very, very poor and you can’t get away from that. I heard Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand question the players’ desire, but I don’t think it’s a question of them not caring. It’s just a clear disconnection between the players and the manager. The way I see it now, Mourinho has no time left.”
Kilbane claimed that the former Chelsea boss wasn’t well prepared for the step up to a club like Manchester United, despite his experience with Real Madrid in Spain:
“For a long time now, not just in the short term, he hasn’t coped with the job. He may have experienced a bit of it at Real Madrid, but surely he knew when he took the United job that there would be more stories written and more scrutiny; much more than at Chelsea, no matter what he thinks.
He hasn’t dealt with that scrutiny well enough.""
The verbal spats with his players aren’t a new thing and that’s his way of trying to get something out of them.”
“But when it comes to the media, he hasn’t handled himself well at all. His attitude and body language when he first arrived at Chelsea was totally different; we’re not seeing that at Manchester United. He looks a lot more uncomfortable in this job.”