Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho is under increasing pressure amid speculation Zinedine Zidane could replace him at Old Trafford.
Mourinho however does not believe his job is in jeopardy despite failing to win the last three matches.
United’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday was their third of the Premier League campaign and they were ejected from the Carabao Cup by Championship club Derby last week. United have won just one of their four Old Trafford matches and tension has mounted between Mourinho and the board for much of the year, while the Portuguese has also encountered issues with players like Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial.
Manchester Evening News reports that Senior United sources dismissed weekend reports the club had approached Zinedine Zidane as ‘nonsense’ and a jovial Mourinho dismissed speculation over his role at a pre-match press conference ahead of the Champions League group game with Valencia on Tuesday night.
“No, I don’t think,” Mourinho said. When asked if he had spoken with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, he added: “That’s a private matter. I’m not asking you who did you speak with yesterday or this morning, who was your last phone call, that’s a private matter. I’m not going to answer it.”
“I told already that after 20 years of football I am still the kid that I was 20 years ago and I am still naive, but I still don’t believe that a player is not honest.
“And I told your colleague of BT [Sport], is a channel with lot of men that were big players in the past, and I told these people with great reputations in the game, if any time in their career they went to a game not to give the maximum not to help the club, not to make the fans happy, not to try to give his his best, ask them.
Luke Shaw described United’s performance at West Ham as ‘absolutely horrendous’ and, while Mourinho agreed with portions of analysis, he believes United’s poor form is a ‘collective’ issue.
“Exactly, is a collective thing,” he added. “The reason why we don’t win matches is the same reason why we don’t win matches; is responsibility of everybody. The performance on the pitch in my opinion is the consequence of many factors, of many factors.
“Luke Shaw, for example, told something I agree but I don’t agree totally because I am part of it, and other persons are part of it, but he say we players are on the pitch, is about us, we have to perform, we have to give more, I like that perspective but I don’t agree totally, is all of us.
“Everybody in the club has a role to play, the kit man has a role to play, the nutritionist has a role to play, I have a role to play, everyone has a role to play. And when we win, we all win, and when we win we all lose. And when we lose the responsibility is the responsibility of everyone.
Jose Mourinho refused to deny reports claiming he had spoken with Zinedine Zidane amid speculation over his Manchester United future.
Zidane has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to replace the struggling Mourinho, with United winless in three, out of the Carabao Cup and nine points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
United entertain Valencia in their second Champions League group stage game at Old Trafford on Tuesday night and an intrepid Spanish reporter attempted to ask Mourinho about his supposed conversation with Zidane.
Mourinho replied in Spanish and then gestured to the journalist who wrote the story, who did not understand what he had said. Mourinho then joked in English: “I said ask you what you wrote. He has written it, you need to ask him. He put a bug on my telephone so why don’t you ask him?”
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