Jose Mourinho, you may have heard, is not having the best of times lately
The Manchester United manager saw his side lose 3-0 to Tottenham at Old Trafford on Monday night, eight days after their 3-2 defeat away to Brighton.
With his team already six points off the top of the Premier League, some reports have suggested United may look to replace Mourinho should the team’s form not drastically improve in the near future.
Although a series of reports have suggested the United board have given the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss their backing to continue, the Daily Mail now claims the club’s players and staff believe defeat to Burnley in their next game could see Mourinho sacked.
Chris Wheeler writes that the prospect of Mourinho being dismissed is now being openly discussed at the club’s training complex, with some players even talking about the possibility of him being replaced by Zinedine Zidane.
“They are saying Jose will be gone soon,” a source is quoted as saying. “Some think he’ll be out if they lose at Burnley. Others can’t see him lasting beyond September.
“We’ve seen this before and it just feels the same. The club will say it’s supporting Jose but we all saw what happened with Louis [van Gaal]. The players are already talking about the possibility of Zidane coming in.”
The same outlet has claimed United have emailed their ambassadors – including Andy Cole, Denis Irwin, Bryan Robson and Dwight Yorke – to caution them on how much they discuss the management situation at the club. At the end of last season, Yorke criticised Mourinho on a radio show and the club were said to be unhappy with that.
Elsewhere, it has been reported in The Independent that United have drawn up a list of six names who could potentially replace Mourinho should the club decide to dismiss the 55-year-old. Zidane features on the list, as does Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and France’s World Cup-winning manager, Didier Deschamps.
