Mourinho does not want to call his players dishonest



Posted Wednesday, December 05, 2018 by PA

Mourinho does not want to call his players dishonest

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says that to claim a footballer has performed poorly due to their feelings toward their manager is to label that player “dishonest”.

The 2018-19 season has seen plenty of talk about the relationship between United players and Mourinho, and there was more after the Red Devils’ winless run in the Premier League extended to a third game with Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Southampton.

Mourinho was asked ahead of Wednesday’s home clash with fourth-placed Arsenal, who United are eight points worse off than, if he still felt the players were all behind him.

The Portuguese said: “I still don’t understand that story. If you think a player only plays when he is, in your words, behind the manager, what I have to call these players or, in this case, what you are calling them, is dishonest.

“A football player is paid – and very well paid – to be a football professional. What is that? It is to train every day in his limits, to play every game in his limits, is to behave socially according to the nature of his job, is to respect the millions of fans around the world and to respect the hierarchies in the club.

“If a player doesn’t do that..one thing is perform well and perform not so well, another thing is to be a football professional.

“If you say that a player plays well or bad because of who the manager is, you are calling the player dishonest.

“I understand your question, but when pundits that were professional players say ‘this player is not playing for the manager’ – did they do that when they were players? Were they dishonest players? If they were they shouldn’t be in front of a camera speaking to millions of people.

“I disagree totally with that question. You have to analyse a player by ‘is he performing, yes or no?’ You shouldn’t go in that direction because you are calling the players dishonest.”

He added: “You believe a player scores in his own goal and then runs and celebrates ‘I scored in my own goal because I don’t like the manager’? Do you believe in that? I don’t believe in that.”

United had considerable worries in terms of their defence for the game.

Mourinho said that Phil Jones, Chris Smalling (foot), Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia were not looking ready to play.

Ashley Young (suspension) and Victor Lindelof (muscular injury) will definitely miss out, and while Matteo Darmian is able to return, Luke Shaw is a doubt after coming off with a knock in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Southampton.

Two others taken off at St Mary’s were forwards Romelu Lukaku (knock) and Marcus Rashford, and there is a question mark over the former, while the latter was backed after the game by Mourinho to be fit for this contest. Alexis Sanchez (hamstring) remains sidelined.

Meanwhile, Unai Emery has challenged Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to maintain the hot streak which has turned him into the Premier League’s hottest property.

Aubameyang scored a brace in Arsenal’s 4-2 victory against Tottenham to become the first player to reach double figures in the league this season.

The Gabon international has an impressive hit rate, netting with 10 of his 13 shots on target, and averaging one goal every 104 minutes.

He is set to spearhead Arsenal’s attack against United, bidding to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 matches as well as claiming the club’s first Premier League victory at Old Trafford in a dozen years.

“To me, his challenge is that he has the possibility to be the best scorer in the Premier League,” said Emery of the former Borussia Dortmund player. “We want to help him achieve this, because if he is scoring he is helping us.

“It is also important for him that he takes confidence from matches like Tottenham, not only from scoring, but helping with the pressing against them, too.

“It is also the moment to say to him ‘don’t stop’. I want him to continue to improve, and his challenge is collective as well as individual.”

Mesut Ozil is unlikely to be available for the Gunners.

Ozil did not train with the first team on Monday, and has been ruled out of Arsenal’s last two matches with a back problem.

Granit Xhaka is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the victory against Tottenham. Nacho Monreal (hamstring), Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin) and Danny Welbeck (ankle) remain sidelined.

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