Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has sarcastically labelled himself the worst manager in the history of football after he faced criticism following a recent slump in form.
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Claudio Ranieri has declared any ill-feeling towards Jose Mourinho as “pre-history” and says he would happily share a bottle of wine with the Manchester United manager.
It’s been a hard couple of weeks for Manchester United and for José Mourinho especially, who largely took the blame for the club’s three consecutive defeats prior to the 3-1 victory over Northampton Town in midweek.
Mourinho is already under pressure at Old Trafford after falling six points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Mourinho’s comments could indicate Rooney will start, which, barring a remarkable turnaround in form, will could also help Leicester.
“Wayne is the captain of the club, the manager and the players – he is trusted by the players, he is trusted by myself and he represents the club in a fantastic way as a player and person and what is now socially”, said Mourinho. “[You] try to have a game plan, try to identify some defensive and attacking agreements between all of us, then in the game the individual mistake you can be punished by that”.
“We all started well, we all won four matches and we all lost three matches in a week so that’s not Wayne Rooney”.
“I am blaming the people that after England-Slovakia were, in my opinion, too strong with somebody that is a very important player in the history of English football”.
“Everybody is involved in every match, even the ones who are not playing”. “I’ve worked hard and tried to do my best for the team”.
But the Leicester boss said any problems are behind them ahead of their second meeting in weeks after United’s 2-1 Community Shield win last month. “I’m very pleased with them and we think we can do a very good season this season”, he said.
Mourinho accepted he had taken a chance in saying United would be challenging for the Premier League title in his first season in charge. “I feel very agitated when my players are criticised”, Mourinho told reporters.
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“It’s very difficult to keep a clean sheet against a team like Leicester and it’s difficult to score goals against a team like Leicester so I keep repeating this: easy to understand but difficult to play against”. You have to cope with it, you have to realise you are very lucky to be in our position.
