Jose Mourinho will cause dressing room rift if he does THIS - pundit

Posted Sunday, November 25, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Jose Mourinho will cause dressing room rift if he does THIS - pundit
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has been quick to criticise his players this season (Image: GETTY)

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho will cause a rift in the dressing room if he only criticises his players in public.

That’s the view of pundit Danny Murphy who saw United held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace on Saturday.

It leaves United 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City after just 13 games of the season.

Mourinho has been quick to criticise his players this season, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw feeling the wrath of their manager.

The former Chelsea boss didn’t single any players out after the draw with Palace but did slam his team when he said: "Once more, we wasted time by allowing the game to go without us really chasing it from the first moment.

"We need to improve, I am disappointed by the performance.

"It is not nice to just blame the favourite in the game for not winning but praise the opponent who came here to get the point."

But Murphy believes it’s fine to criticise in public, as long as it’s repeated behind closed doors.

“It's alright for Jose Mourinho to accuse players of lacking heart and intensity in his television interviews and post-match press conferences – provided he confronts the players directly with the same complaints,” Murphy wrote for the Mail.

“I’ve had many meetings with mangers who have dished it out to an individual or individuals and then repeated the message publicly.

“That's fine, that can work, because he's not hiding behind the media, he's saying it to your face as well.

“I don't know what Mourinho is saying in the dressing-room but he should be telling the players exactly what he's saying into a microphone, otherwise it's a problem.

“Imagine if a player reads his manager is throwing out accusations but not specifying which players he is talking about.

“It'll be a case of 'come on then, tell us who it is, name and shame.'

“If Mourinho genuinely thinks he has players who are not showing enough heart, he also has to look at himself.

“You are employed as a manager for a reason.”