Jose Press Conference

Some bits from todays press conference.

Team news

“The players? Zlatan is available, Jones is available, Fellaini I have to wait until tomorrow.

“Michael Carrick is not available, Eric Bailly is not available.

“Nemanja Matic is injured but he plays."

Joses gameplan


“Football is unpredictable, you can try you can try, me as a manager I can try to define a game-plan, to work in a direction, but football is unpredictable.

“We don’t know what can happen, there are so many things that are out of control that can totally transform the direction of the game, so I wouldn’t risk saying what game we are going to have."

On the Derby

"To me it means one more big match against one of the best teams in the country, the first against the second, a big match.

We are a better team than last year, no doubts about it, but I think City are also a better team than last season."

Height advantage?

Much is being made of a supposed United height advantage this weekend.

Asked about it, Mourinho bit back:

“I think it will be easy for [Vincent] Kompany to compete against [Juan] Mata in the air."
‘
So...a start for Mata then?



First Derby since the Manchester bombing

Mourinho said: “These are the beautiful things that football can do, we could fill in that period that the clubs were ready to work together for the city, that’s no doubt, it would be really sad if that was not the case.

“Now this is a football match, an important football match where I wish everything goes well in relation to the fans.

“If taken in the right way the derby’s a beautiful thing, same city, different colours, friends support different colours, even under the same roof some families disagree on the passion of the colours, if taken in the right thing is a beautiful thing."

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So, nothing majorly surprising.

Could Jones be part of the back 4, or back 3 if we go that way again. Who would drop out to accommodate him?

Fellaini possibly due for a comeback to the bench, Matic will play through a bit of an injury niggle again.

Press conferences have been largely boring with Jose to be fair, it's one thing I miss about LVG