Jose Mourinho is facing a challenge on the football field as he seeks to steer Manchester United’s lumbering, listing ship back on course for the English Premier League title.
Outside match days, it appears Mourinho’s task is only marginally less difficult. The United manager, humbled 4-0 by Antonio Conte and Chelsea on Sunday on his return to Stamford Bridge, has reportedly shocked members of his squad with his approach to training.
That is the claim made by The Times on Tuesday, with the newspaper suggesting Rui Faria, Mourinho’s assistant, performs the day-to-day work of coaching the players, while the Portuguese sits in his office at the club’s Carrington training ground to formulate tactics.
That has reportedly disappointed a set of players hoping to benefit from Mourinho’s coaching expertise.
Of course, a manager leaving the monotony of drills to his coaches is nothing new—Sir Alex Ferguson preferred to cede control on the training field to his assistants. But Mourinho can hardly afford any potential dressing-room unrest as he attempts to turn around a run of form that has seen United win just one of its past five Premier League games.
