If anyone still doubts Jose's commitment to our league schedule versus going all out for the Europa League, they would do well to think about the application, focus and determination of and sheer mileage covered by the players today.
And also to heed this from his BBC post-match interview:
"I didn't play [Herrera] against Anderlecht because I wanted him 100% focussed on today's game."
I don't think anyone should be surprised that Mourinho, given what we know about him, is determined for us to finish as high up the league as we possibly can, *as well as* to go all out for the EL.
That's some demand on the players given the number of games some of them have played already this season. Mourinho also admitted in the same interview that the group is tired, but he's delighted with them as a collective.
One thing is for sure: if we see the same dedication, concentration and discipline that we saw from them all today for the rest of the season, there's no reason why we can't finish higher up the league and add another European trophy to the collection.
Jose's priorities
posted on 16/4/17
A lot more confident for Thursday now. Was worried we were stalling but I think that will boost the confidence no end.
posted on 16/4/17
Good spot re Herrera. Darmian done a job on Pedro too.
There is no guarantee we will win the EL and Jose has to have both options available until one is no longer realistically feasible.
Real Shame about the injuries to Jones/Smalling & Mata.
Im concerned with Martial's lack of game time
posted on 16/4/17
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posted on 16/4/17
I think it's more about how important he sees it to get one over Chelsea.
posted on 16/4/17
comment by Brightdave: (U11711)
posted 40 minutes ago
But I thought Jose had intentionally picked a team to lose against his former club so he could be ridiculed to to the Nth degree right?
Herrera is one of my real positives of this season. He is not perfect, but he's becoming the player that we thought we'd bought when he first came.
Totally rejuvenated his career under Jose.
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He was superb today. The best of a very good group.
He's got so much to his game now; certainly more than when he arrived at the club.
He's always demonstrated (if maybe not as frequently as we'd have liked) that he has vision and the ability to pick a game-changing pass, good touch, good agility and a decent engine. But to me he seems to have added a bit of positional discipline, aggression and anticipation to his game. He's a real asset.
posted on 16/4/17
comment by Scruttocks (U19684)
posted 25 minutes ago
I think it's more about how important he sees it to get one over Chelsea.
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He's worked hard to play that idea down.
We'll see whether there's any truth in it over the next few weeks in how we approach our remaining league fixtures.
posted on 18/4/17
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39623727
Jose Mourinho may talk about John Terry in next press conference. I will forever be grateful for his slip and miss in 08 CL final. When he stepped up I thought please miss otherwise it will be like the end of the world.