Roman Abramovich would be foolish to axe Jose Mourinho, warns Alex Ferguson
Mourinho has seen his position put back in the spotlight following Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. He accepted after that loss that the defending Premier League champions now face a battle to finish in the top four, with the Blues in 14th place and just three points clear of the relegation zone.
Mourinho signed a four-year deal until June 2019 in August and received a vote of confidence from Abramovich on October 5, but the team have so far failed to deliver on a couple of promising performances with four wins and five losses in 11 games since.
Ferguson went head to head with Mourinho during the latter part of his 27-year tenure at Manchester United.
The Scot has every confidence the former Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid boss will come through the most testing spell of his career and believes dispensing with his services for a second time by Abramovich would be the wrong call.
Speaking with Michael Moritz, the co-author of his book Leading at the TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 event, Ferguson was asked what advice he would have for Abramovich.
The Scot replied: “Don’t read the papers, I think that would be a mistake. I think he has sacked so many coaches in the last 10 years that I am sure he has learnt by it. (Abramovich) has to trust and have confidence Jose can turn it around, there is no point in sacking one of the best coaches of all time.
“(Mourinho) has won the European Cup twice, he’s won the league in each country he’s managed in, he’s won the big trophies.
“It would be foolish for him to take that step to sacking him. That would be bad management; it is not leadership, that.
“Football today is such a big financial industry, the television deal is (worth) billions, there is the press involvement, there is pressure from their own fans, it is a very high-risk industry today.
“The sort of average time a manager lasts now is a year throughout the whole country and that is not a big time.
“For Jose, I think all good leaders will eventually find a solution. I think he will find a solution.”
Ferguson famously stated his biggest challenge upon arriving at Old Trafford in 1986 was to “knock Liverpool right off their perch” and by the time he retired in 2013, he had guided United past the Reds’ record 18 domestic titles.
The last of Liverpool’s championship victories came prior to the Premier League’s formation but, after hiring Klopp in October and losing just two of their 12 games since, Ferguson is confident the ex-Borussia Dortmund boss will transform the Merseysiders’ fortunes.
Ferguson said: “I’m worried about him because one thing United don’t want is Liverpool to be above us, that’s for sure.
“He’s a fantastic personality, he’s got that great confidence in himself.
“I noticed in yesterday’s game when they lost the second goal he went across to (Newcastle boss) Steve McClaren and was smiling and congratulated him — it was class, that.
“He’s got a great personality — his big white teeth are always showing he’s enjoying it. He’s going to make a difference to that club, there’s absolutely no doubt about it.
“He’s got the personality, he’s got the drive, he’s got the knowledge and a great presence about him so I think things are looking up there.”
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