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.”
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“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.”
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbors amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
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
London favorite to host Spain v Argentina Finalissima after Doha doubts
- It has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely
- London has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative
MADRID: Soccer chiefs from Europe and South America will hold a final meeting before a Thursday deadline to decide whether and where this month’s “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina will be played, with London emerging as the leading candidate after doubts over Doha, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The match between European champions Spain and Copa America holders Argentina had been scheduled for March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
However, it has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The Spanish FA (RFEF) has been pushing for a swift resolution, mindful that the March international break is viewed as vital preparation ahead of the June-July World Cup in North America.
“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.”
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbors amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
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