Match of the Day pundit Phil Neville has heaped praise on Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, labelling him as “courageous.”
The Red Devils’ boss has recently come under-fire for his team’s performance in their 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, which is their second successive loss after falling to a defeat at the hands of Brighton the week before.
However, Neville – who guided the England Women to victory against Wales on Friday evening – believes that Mourinho has been “courageous” in the face of the recent criticism of his team, even comparing him to United legend Sir Alex Ferguson in terms of attitude.
“He’ll not be happy with what he has seen in the first three games but he is the right man for the job because of his proven track record. All the focus is on Jose because he is taking the battering at the moment,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live [as transcribed by BBC Sport].
“That is a sign of a courageous manager that doesn’t throw his players under a bus and is protecting them.
“There were times when Sir Alex Ferguson took the pressure off us as players. There are players in that Man United dressing room that probably know that they can be playing better but he is not criticising them publicly at the moment. He is actually taking the hits for them.”
OPINION
It is no wonder that Mourinho has taken a battering recently, especially after his team’s recent performances. For a team of their magnitude, they have simply not been good enough of late, and Mourinho has definitely been taking most of the flak for it. However, Neville is accurate in saying that he has been courageous in the face of this criticism. He does not need to take all of the criticism he has taking for his players, and they are lucky that he has not been slamming them in public. Nevertheless, it is evident that they are not so keen on playing for him at the moment, and the team morale has probably decreased as a result. He needs to get their spirits up again, but they also need to respect him as their manager, as after all, it is down to him whether they play or not. Fingers crossed for the fans that everything heads in the right direction from now on, and that they get back to winning ways.