- Jose Mourinho has dismissed claims that he does not given teenagers a chance to prove themselves under his stewardship
- The Manchester United boss made the statement in an interview while a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Solihull
- He then added that he will uphold the traditions of Manchester United
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had been previously accused of ignoring upcoming talents for already established ones.
Mourinho, 54, who was simply tired of refuting the suggestions addressed it all in an interview with Scott McTominay of Mirror sports.
Youngster McTominay is a first-team squad player for good, promises Mourinho (photo: Getty)
The-54-year-old insists Manchester United’s treasured traditions of developing its own talent is in safe hands.
There has been a player from the club's academy in every United match-day squad since October 1937.
READ ALSO: Manchester United players attend UNICEF charity dinner in style
“I don’t want to be the one that breaks that and I think the next United manager – it doesn’t matter when he comes – should also try not to break it.
Mourinho couldn't resist a team-talk on his visit to the Jaguar factory (photo: Jaguar)
“It is more difficult now than it was before, but I think it is good. I feel it like a way to keep a certain identity of the club. To keep that identity means, basically, we should bring a new player from the academy every season.
“You can bring someone to play 10 minutes, then the player disappears and then you can say, ‘Oh, 40 players have their debut with me’. But none of them are important.
even placing the famous Jaguar leaper badge on its front grille himself... (photo: Jaguar)
“When I say 'bring', I mean (for them) to stay.
“I think what is happening with (Jesse) Lingard and (Marcus) Rashford is now happening with Scott McTominay… because he is not going to leave the club any more.
“To follow a certain pathway is important. I am doing it with McTominay. Mr Van Gaal had the start of Rashford, I am having it with Scott McTominay and, next year, there should be another.”
Academy boys Lingard and Rashford are continuing a decades-old United tradition (photo: Action Images via Reuters)
Mourinho’s mention of the ‘next United manager’ is intriguing.
He does not want a discussion on his long-term future, but responds to questions about aims and ambitions by re-iterating the length of contract he signed.
“I signed a three-year contract and when I signed that three-year contract it was basically to try and improve the direction of the football team,” he says.
“And obviously when we want to improve the direction of the football team, it means to try and win titles which we did already last season.
“But when we speak about titles, everyone obviously thinks about the Premier League.”
Mourinho - speaking after a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Solihull where he collected the 100,000th F-PACE to roll off the production line and gave a surprise talk to technicians - believes the pressure on United to win their first title post-Sir Alex Ferguson is a little harsh.
He explains: “Of course it is an objective but to say the only way we are improving is to win the Premier League is not quite fair because the other teams, the other five or six teams, have the same objectives, the same responsibility, the same tools, they have the same qualities to do it, or even more because they have the stability over the past three years.”
Mourinho clearly thinks competition within the Big Six has rarely been fiercer, but does not necessarily believe that will lead to success in Europe.
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With City and Spurs already qualified, United as good as, and Liverpool and Chelsea odds-on to follow suit, it looks almost certain England will have five representatives in the knockout stages.
Many believe the Premier League could be on the verge of beginning a golden era in Europe.
Does Jose? “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think so because I always say the Champions League only starts in February and in February, the English teams are after December and January where we can play 20 matches over two months and the Germans, the French, the Spanish, the Italians, they all come from a winter break.
“So I think they arrive in better conditions than the English teams.
“It’s also a fact that any match you play in this country, if you don’t go strong, you lose.
“We go to Bristol (City of the Championship next Wednesday) in the (EFL Cup) quarter-final and if you don’t go with a strong team, you lose. That’s as simple as that.
“In other other countries, between the top teams and the others, there is huge difference and not just in terms of talent and potential but also in terms of mentality.”
“Here, the smaller teams want to win, want to compete, want to have the courage to try and get a result.”
That is why Mourinho will need deep resources as he prepares to battle on all fronts.
NAIJ.com reported earlier that Manchester United players all look stunning as they turn up at the club's charity gala in aid of UNICEF with the red carpet literally rolled out.
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Source: Sports.naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Thursday 16 November 2017