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| Manchester United FC coach Jose Mourinho |
Jose Mourinho is under fire for his
furious reaction to decisions that went against Manchester United in their
controversial draw with Hull, but Phil Jones says his manager had every right
to lose his cool.
Mourinho was
in a foul mood after referee Mike Jones failed to clamp down on what he saw as
Hull’s time-wasting or show Tigers striker Oumar Niasse a second yellow card
for a high challenge on Marcos Rojo.
After
storming out of a post-match television interview, he launched into an angry
rant about perceived inconsistencies in a post-match press conference following
Wednesday’s 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
Mourinho
claimed he is judged by a different set of rules to rival managers, alluding to
his own stadium ban last season during his time as Chelsea manager, and the
recent behaviour of his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger and Liverpool rival
Jurgen Klopp.
Wenger is
serving a four-game touchline ban for abusive language and pushing an official
against Burnley, while Klopp revealed he had apologised after screaming in the
fourth official’s face during his side’s draw against Chelsea this week.
“You know
clearly that I am different,” Mourinho said. “I am different. The rules for me
are different.
“I am
different in everything. I watched my team play in a hotel (when banned), I was
forbidden to go to the stadium, my assistant had a six-match stadium ban and he
didn’t touch anyone.
“Yesterday
(Tuesday), one fourth official told a manager: ‘I enjoy very much your passion,
so do what you want to do.’
“Today I was
told sit down or I have to send you to the stands, so everything is different
for me.”
– Paranoid –
Klopp refused to be drawn into a war of words with Mourinho, who has served two
touchline bans this season, but hinted he didn’t believe the United manager’s
complaints were valid.
“Maybe I was
lucky with what the fourth official said because I’ve never heard something
like this before. There are different ways to handle the situation,” Klopp said
on Thursday.
“It is quite
an emotional game and to switch off emotions is not that simple.
“We struggle
— not only myself and Jose but Arsene Wenger and a lot of other people
struggle.
“We are all
different, sometimes we get a fine, sometimes not. It’s not what we want to do
nor is it a tactic.
“It was
worse with me when I was younger. I have already improved but I had no idea why
he (Mourinho) spoke about me.”
Mourinho’s
paranoid demeanour must be concerning for the United hierarchy so soon in his
reign.
The former
Chelsea and Real Madrid boss, who took over at Old Trafford in the
close-season, has traditionally cut a more isolated and angst-ridden figure in
the last months of his various jobs.
But, with
United struggling to live up to his expectations, he already appears agitated
and on edge.
United have
fallen four points adrift of the top four after their third successive league
draw and, with the title realistically out of reach, even a place in next
season’s Champions League can’t be taken for granted.
With
Mourinho’s frustration mounting, he might at least have been encouraged that
his players share his pain and are determined to make amends.
“We said
before the game that this was our chance to put some pressure on the teams
above us,” United defender Jones told MUTV.
“We knew
that teams around us would slip up and they have done, but we couldn’t
capitalise on it.
“We’re
bitterly disappointed. The lads are down in the dressing room, as you’d
expect.”
