MANCHESTER: Jose Mourinho acknowledged on Friday Manchester United’s current run of form is unacceptable as he battles to turn around their season.
The 55-year-old Portuguese is under enormous pressure, with United in their worst position after seven league matches since 1989 — they are 10th, nine points adrift of the top two Manchester City and Liverpool — and a public dispute with star player Paul Pogba has sewn discord in the dressing room.
His side are looking to end a run of four home matches without a win — their worst run at Old Trafford for 29 seasons — when they host Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday.
Mourinho is adamant United will improve on their current league position of 10th but he accepted their form at present is not good enough.
“Yes, I accept,” he said, although he refused to answer when asked if he could assure the fans he was doing everything he could to improve their form.
Mourinho has endured a testing week, following up a 3-1 league defeat at West Ham last Saturday with a goalless draw at home to Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Asked why things were not working for United at present, the manager said: “For many different reasons.”
He was then asked if he could give the reasons, and responded: “No.”
The manager faced heavy criticism for playing midfielder Scott McTominay in a three-man central defense at West Ham, and the sense of turbulence intensified over a social media controversy involving club captain Antonio Valencia.
Valencia had to apologize after liking an Instagram post calling for Mourinho to leave his job. The defender claimed he had not read the text of the post before liking it.
United’s home form is a cause for concern at present. They have not won at Old Trafford since beating Leicester on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Their longest winless home run before this came between November 1989 and February 1990, when they went six games without a victory at Old Trafford.
Mourinho acknowledged that it was vital for United to improve that home form quickly.
“In many of the leagues the tables in September and October don’t reflect what is going to happen in a few months or even at the end of the season,” said Mourinho.
“But we are in a position that we can do much better and to do that we need points, points that we lost, especially in the last two Premier League matches, when we took one point out of six.
“We know that to improve that position we need to win these three points (against Newcastle) but we know that our opposition also need the points.”
Jose Mourinho admits United’s form is not good enough ahead of vital Newcastle clash
Jose Mourinho admits United’s form is not good enough ahead of vital Newcastle clash
Chelsea, Aston Villa held in blow to Champions League hopes
- The Blues climb into the Premier League’s top four only on goal difference
- Villa defied the odds to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race
LONDON: Chelsea’s chances of Champions League qualification were dented as Burnley snatched a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, while Aston Villa also struck late to salvage a point against Leeds on Saturday.
The Blues climb into the Premier League’s top four only on goal difference after they paid for failing to build on Joao Pedro’s fourth-minute opener.
Chelsea were dominant until Wesley Fofana was sent off with 18 minutes remaining for a second yellow card.
Burnley took full advantage as Zian Flemming headed in from a corner in the 93rd minute to keep their slim hopes of survival alive.
The Clarets edge to within eight points of safety.
Villa defied the odds to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race until recent weeks, but a 1-1 draw continued their poor run at Villa Park.
Anton Stach’s spectacular free-kick from fully 40 yards (37 meters) at an angle caught out Emi Martinez at his near post to give Leeds the advantage.
Daniel Farke’s men have lost just twice in their last 16 games to relieve their fears of being dragged into a battle for survival.
But Tammy Abraham then snatched a point for Villa two minutes from time.
Five Premier League sides are set to qualify for next season’s Champions League thanks to the strong performance of English sides in European competition this season.
But Liverpool and Manchester United have the chance to close in when they face Nottingham Forest and Everton in the coming days.
James Milner set a new record of 654 Premier League appearances in Brighton’s 2-0 win at Brentford.
The 40-year-old started for the Seagulls as they secured a first win in seven games to ease the pressure on boss Fabian Hurzeler.
Diego Gomez drilled in the opening goal for the visitors after Ferdi Kadioglu’s stunning strike came back off the bar.
Danny Welbeck then pounced on some slack Brentford defending to double Brighton’s lead just before half-time.
Manchester City can close to within two points of leaders Arsenal when they host Newcastle in Saturday’s 2000GMT kick-off.
The Gunners have breathed new life into City’s title challenge with disappointing draws at Brentford and Wolves since Pep Guardiola’s men last played in the Premier League.
Arsenal are in action on Sunday when they travel to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby.
