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Football

01st Oct 2018

Jose Mourinho hilariously addresses Zinedine Zidane rumours in press conference

Mourinho refused to say when he last spoke to Ed Woodward

Darragh Murphy

Jose Mourinho insists he is not feeling the heat.

Mourinho has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks after Manchester United’s worst start to a season in 29 years but he doesn’t see the upcoming games as must-wins.

Defeat to West Ham on Saturday afternoon left United in 10th place in the Premier League table, with three losses in their opening seven fixtures.

Several reports claim that the Red Devils are preparing to part ways with Mourinho and replace him with former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, a claim which is refuted by the club.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Valencia, Mourinho laughed off a question from a Spanish journalist about a Sun story which stated that the United boss was fearing for his future at Old Trafford after a phonecall from Zidane.

Mourinho responded by pointing in the direction of the story’s writer and saying: “He put a bug on my telephone so why don’t you ask him?”

The 55-year-old insisted that he didn’t feel like his job was on the line if results didn’t improve but would refuse to comment on whether he’d spoken to United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, since the weekend.

“That’s a private matter,” Mourinho said. “I’m not asking you who you spoke to yesterday or this morning or your last phonecall. That’s a private matter! I’m not going to answer to you.”

Mourinho refused to single out any player amid rumours that he’d lost the dressing room but he did make a concerning admission about certain members of his squad.

He said: “I think that some care more than others.”