Jose Mourinho is becoming increasingly exasperated with his players’ failure to take his ideas on board and abandon Louis van Gaal’s methods.
Manchester United have lost their last three games and play at Northampton Town on Wednesday night looking to avoid a major League Cup upset.
Mourinho’s public criticism of his players over the last 10 days has not gone down well with some of his squad, although it’s understood he has been far more outspoken inside the dressing room.
The United boss hinted last month that he would face problems stamping his mark on the team after two years under Van Gaal’s strict regime that left many players feeling like robots.
‘It is a difficult situation to change dynamics,’ he said. ‘It would be easier for me to have 20 new players and start from zero.
‘For two years, they had principles of play that are not mine, clearly. Step by step it will be my team.’
However, it has taken Mourinho longer than he expected to erase Van Gaal’s philosophy despite bringing in four new players in Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The former Chelsea boss wants his players to be more instinctive whereas Van Gaal — his mentor at Barcelona — insisted on drilling procedures into his team.
Ander Herrera is understood to be a prime example of a player who is confused after being asked to do the exact opposite under Mourinho as he was by Van Gaal.
United’s full backs are also said to be struggling with the new approach. Mourinho wants them to push up and look to get the ball forward, after they were ordered to play it sideways to their centre backs under the Dutchman.
Mourinho singled out Luke Shaw for criticism over Watford’s second goal when United lost 3-1 at Vicarage Road on Sunday, accusing the England left back of standing off Nordin Amrabat in the build-up.
Shaw, who is one of a number of regulars who will miss the Northampton game after scans revealed a minor groin tear, is said to be unhappy with the criticism.
It followed Mourinho’s decision to single out Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard in the Manchester derby a week earlier by substituting both players at half-time in the 2-1 defeat by City at Old Trafford.
He also felt the need to remind his players in public last week that they should not need any extra motivation from him to succeed when they enjoy a superstar lifestyle.
‘I am an extra source of motivation, but the motivation belongs to the player,’ he said. ‘The great life, the money they have to do what they want, I think they shouldn’t need extra motivation.
‘The club is too big, the supporters are too passionate for the professionals not to feel that every game is very important.’
Even though Mourinho’s criticism has been significantly stronger behind closed doors and ruffled a few feathers in the dressing room, the Old Trafford hierarchy are said to be relaxed about his approach.
His reputation for causing rows meant that they knew what they were getting when they hired the Portuguese coach, and believe they have the nearest thing to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Whether Ferguson would have criticised his players so pointedly in public is another matter and there are concerns in some quarters that Mourinho might start to lose the dressing room as he did in his second spell at Chelsea.
He was always going to make changes for the trip to Northampton — David de Gea, Pogba and Ibrahimovic are set to be rested — and the squad who travelled on Tuesday included a number of fringe players.
But Mourinho is still expected to field a relatively strong team against the League One club, mindful that a fourth defeat in a row would be unthinkable following the setbacks against City, Feyenoord and Watford.
United went out of this competition in the early rounds in both seasons under Van Gaal, losing to MK Dons and Middlesbrough.
Wayne Rooney, whose place against Leicester on Saturday is said to be under threat after a poor showing at Vicarage Road, travelled with the squad and is set to start in attack to boost his confidence. Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin are among the fringe players who could feature.
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