For someone described as an old man at the weekend it’s perhaps fitting that Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United will host Young Boys at Old Trafford tonight. Victory against the Swiss side, if Valencia fail to beat Juventus, will ensure United qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League with a round to spare, an outcome that will go some way to alleviate the depression that has settled over the Theatre of Dreams this season.
Yesterday’s Man
Saturday’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace at Old Trafford left United in seventh position, fourteen points behind leaders Manchester City and seven behind Chelsea, who lie fourth. It was the manager who bore the brunt of the criticism from a panel of football writers on Sky Sports. The Daily Star labelled him a “tired, old guy” and the Mail on Sunday described him as “yesterday’s man”.
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Stick with the Special One
But Mourinho received the support of Ryan Giggs on Monday, according to Sky Sports, with the manager of Wales saying sacking the Special One would not be a solution to United’s problems. “Everyone knows what a successful manager he’s been over the years,” said Giggs, overlooking his disastrous second spell in charge at Chelsea. “I believe that bit of stability we’ve not had over the years – we need to stick with him. But results also need to change. I think we’ve got the manager, the players to do that.”
Tonight is a good opportunity to bring about that change, with United facing a Young Boys side which they thrashed 3-0 when they met in Switzerland in September. Since then, however, United have found it increasingly difficult to score. Saturday’s draw with Crystal Palace was the fourth time in all competitions that United have drawn a blank at home.
Consistency required
Giggs believes it’s all about self-belief and that comes with building a momentum on the back of victories. “Manchester City and Liverpool, the teams up there, they are consistent,” said the United legend. “It’s still 13 games into the season, time to claw it back. But the only way of doing that is going on a run of seven or eight games unbeaten – small steps to build that confidence back up.”
Stay at home
United have won just three of their nine games at Old Trafford this season, leading reporters to ask Mourinho if his squad felt more pressure performing in front of 75,000 home fans. It wasn’t a line of questioning that he appreciated, reports The Sun. “If you feel pressure, stay at home,” he replied. “And when I say ‘home’, I don’t say ‘stadium home’, I say ‘home home and watch on TV’.”
Explaining that “I never feel pressure to play at home”, Mourinho added: “Do I prefer to play tomorrow against Young Boys here or go to Bern? I would say immediately to play at home. Always.”
Frustrating
United’s last foray into Europe was a 2-1 win at Juventus, a victory that has taken them to the brink of qualification for the last 16, but that win was followed by a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City and the bore draw with Palace. “It is frustrating,” admitted Mourinho, when asked about his side’s inconsistency. “The team that wants to win must have the intensity to not help the opponent. I want the team to start strong, go strong on the opponent, not to be waiting.”
