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Football

22nd Aug 2018

Worrying claim emerges about Jose Mourinho’s pre-match team talks

All is not well at Old Trafford

Darragh Murphy

If this is true, Jose Mourinho might have already thrown in the towel.

It’s been claimed that Mourinho is just going through the motions at Old Trafford amid suggestions that his days at the club are numbered.

Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe has revealed that he’s heard from a source at the club that Mourinho is no longer giving detailed tactical instructions to his players on matchdays.

Sharpe, who recently predicted that Mourinho would be gone by Christmas, has claimed that the United manager simply picks the team and allows the players to do their own thing, distancing himself from his previous hands-on role in the dressing room.

Mourinho has a reputation for being meticulous when it comes to tactical details but it sounds like his strained relationship with the club has caused him to take a step back.

“Mourinho is on trial again,” Sharpe said on talkSPORT. “He’s never looked happy since he’s been at the club.

“There just seems to be no plan at Man United. Nobody seems to know where they should be going and what they should be doing.

“I’ve heard a little whisper to say the manager is not really giving them a lot of instruction before games. He’s just picking the team and letting them get on with it.

“It seems to me that he hasn’t got the players in that he wanted this summer, and he’s gone into a bit of a sulk. He’s just let the players crack on and do their own thing.

“When you’re moping around, moaning about who you haven’t been able to sign and about the lack of players you have, instead of bigging up the players you already have and filling them with confidence, I don’t think it’s good for team morale.”