Jose isn't SAF nor does he need to be

Since the legend retired we've all (myself included) tried to measure his successors against him but I think it's best we leave SAF in the past safe with his achievements and concentrate on the future rather than saddle each new guy with the impossible task of replacing the irreplaceable.

A thing Jose does now that annoys some people is him calling out players in public. Obviously SAF would never do that but does that make it a bad (or good) thing? Or just something somebody else does? What should it matter what a SAF did? A different man at a different time,

Here is what Jose said today about why he does it...

When asked if his approach was a calculated risk, Mourinho told Sky Sports on Tuesday 'I don't care. I don't even think about it. It is not a psychological approach.

'I just try to be who I am. I just try to be honest and direct, and I don't think about the consequences.

'You give me everything you have, I thank you for that. You don't give me everything you have, I ask you for more. That is just common sense.'

'When you give everything you have, I cannot demand more from you, and Marcus, even not performing especially well, was giving absolutely everything.'

'So I could never demand more from him. I could just support and say that better days will arrive, but (I am) always super happy with the approach from such a young and talented kid.

'Some other guys don't give everything they have, so that is the point - they have to. And when they do it, I am happy with them. It doesn't matter the way they perform.'

It seems that his M.O is to get players to fight for their right to play for United. He wants that desire from the players to know they either give 100% or else they don't get to play for a huge club like ours. It won't work with everyone but it will work.

Just look at what Shaw said the other day in response to the criticism...


“It’s the start I think of fully turning the corner, but it was obviously great," Shaw said of Mourinho’s reaction when he was taken off against Sunderland. “It was sort of what I needed after a tough couple of weeks of things that he had said, but I took it really well."

“I took it positively and when I came off the pitch and he said ‘good performance’ it made me feel better as a person, made me sort of more confident than I already was."

“It was very important for me to get those minutes. I think they were a good 60 minutes. I was disappointed, I wanted to play the 90 minutes like always, but he was very positive with me and it lovely to see."

“I had a really, really good chat with him after those words came out and I totally agree with him. I will do whatever he wants. I have always been a hard worker but I think maybe if I look back I wasn’t doing as hard as he likes."

“We had a really good talk and he discussed what he wanted from me and I think even in a week and a half I have seen a massive change in myself, not just on the pitch and the training ground but off it as well,"

“Now it is my time to fight until the end of the season and show the boss what I can do and what I can bring to help his team. I remember having the meeting with him and I said to him at the end, ‘I am going to prove you wrong’ because I believe and I want to do that, not just for myself but the fans that have been behind me and sent me really nice messages and want to support me through this time.

“I think now I can sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to push for the best from me. I wish the season wasn’t coming to an end. I wish it was the start because I just want to play games and games now."

“It is very hard but I think his time around – I’ve sort of had it before – I’ve dealt with it much better," he said. “I think off the pitch sometimes it’s hard. When I first came to United, there was a lot of discussion about me then and that was hard because it was something new for me.

“I was always used to positive feedback or positive stuff about me in the media, and obviously I came here and everything changed. It was a negative. I think I took that badly and it sort of knocked me down a bit, but this time I’ve come back wanting to fight and I want to prove everyone wrong."

Like I said, it may not work with everyone but it seems to be working with Shaw. And I'm sure others will follow or else they'll have to leave the club.