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Football

02nd Sep 2018

Jose Mourinho has only gone and dedicated Man United’s win to Ed Woodward

An anti-Woodward banner was flown over Turf Moor on Sunday afternoon

Darragh Murphy

Rift? What rift?

Everyone at Manchester United is insisting that there is absolutely no hostility between Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward.

Suggestions had been made that the relationship between the manager and executive vice-chairman of United was deteriorating this season after several disagreements.

But the club has moved to rubbish those reports, with claims that Mourinho and Woodward are as close as ever.

On Sunday afternoon, the Red Devils steadied the ship slightly with a 2-0 victory over Burnley but supporters voiced their dissatisfaction with how Woodward was performing with a banner ahead of kick-off.

A message was flown over Turf Moor which read ‘Ed Woodward – A Specialist in Failure’.

Mourinho was asked for his take on the pre-match protest and while he claimed that he didn’t see the banner, the Portuguese did essentially dedicate the win to his superior.

“I am not looking to the sky unless I am asking the guy for help,” Mourinho said.

“I didn’t see planes but Ed Woodward won 2-0 this afternoon.”

Mourinho has had to endure more than his fair share of media pressure in the past week with regards to the likelihood of him keeping his job but plenty of supporters have thrown their backing behind the 55-year-old.

And the United boss credited the fans with making his life a lot easier in recent days.

“The manager is not important, the team is important. The manager does not play,” Mourinho said.

“I have miles and miles and miles on the touchline to cope with every different reaction from the crowd. I am really happy with the performance, the result and to give that good feeling to the fans. They are the biggest [people] responsible for the week.”