Jose Mourinho: Time for Man United leaders to stand up

Jose Mourinho wants Manchester United’s players to start showing better leadership and mental strength.

So dominant for so long under Alex Ferguson, United have struggled to replicate that supremacy since the Scot’s retirement in 2013.

It is very early in Mourinho’s tenure but 10 matches into the Premier League season they are already seven points off the top-four — a gap they will look to close before the international break this tomorrow at Swansea.

United approach the match reeling from a difficult 2-1 Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce, where Moussa Sow’s overhead kick after 65 seconds set the Turkish side on course for victory.

It was the second successive away game that United had failed to recover from an early setback, with Pedro’s 30th-second strike helping Chelsea onto a 4-0 win last month.

“It can happen everywhere,” the United manager said when asked if the recent early goals were a concern.

“There are so many examples in football where people score goals in the first minutes. Nobody is free of that. But with a stronger attitude, leadership on the pitch, defenders in control of the emotion and the organisation, it’s easier to be strong, it’s easier to be solid.”

Injuries to key defenders Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia have no doubt disrupted things, but that is no excuse for those selected approaching the Fenerbahce match in a manner their manager likened to a “summer friendly”.

Mourinho was also irked that the players ignored his pre-match advice in Istanbul, with sloppiness a fault not often associated with Mourinho’s sides.

“Well, you never saw a Jose Mourinho team play with two left-backs as central defenders,” he said.

“I cannot be critical of the boys because they do what they can. They try their best.

“For Daley (Blind), it is even more difficult to play central defender on the right side — it is completely uncomfortable for him. He cannot be a good builder of the game when this is one of his good qualities.

“Marcos (Rojo) is trying hard and is fine, but it’s a very important starting point for the stability of the team.

“Even in matches where we didn’t concede goals with them against Man City and Burnley, (they) were home matches and we managed to play with a high percentage of the ball and managed to play with the defensive line almost in the midfield.

“But it’s hard to have a really strong team, but then we can talk about the number of goals that we don’t score.

“Sometimes a team doesn’t score goals because of its philosophy, because the team isn’t aggressive enough and doesn’t risk enough. That’s not our case at all. But it’s also easy to see that some players in attacking areas lack confidence, they are not sharp, not getting the chances they can.

“And probably one of the only good things was the fact that (Wayne) Rooney finally scored a goal. Maybe it’s also a key point in terms of his self-confidence.”

Mourinho will have to watch from the stands due to a one-match touchline ban for his behaviour towards officials against Burnley.

Mourinho told reporters to “forget it” when quizzed on the absence, giving a similar curt response when asked if Bastian Schweinsteiger will be involved tomorrow.