Man United need to see the real Jose Mourinho – Neville

Joe Williams
Jose Mourinho: Wants to see diving punished

Jose Mourinho: Wants to see diving punished

Phil Neville thinks Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has become too reserved during his time at Old Trafford and wants to see the “real Jose”.

Mourinho led his United side to a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester City to progress to the EFL Cup quarter-finals and banish the memories of last weekend’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Neville, who was a pundit on Sky Sports for the match against City, wants to see more of the passion that Mourinho has shown in his previous jobs that seems to be lacking on the touchline at Old Trafford.

“Jose said after the game at Chelsea how he felt embarrassed,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“The supporters are not unhappy with Jose, but they are waiting for the real Jose to come out.

“When I see him in interviews and on the touchline, he looks a little bit reserved.

“I want him to come out and show the real Jose, where he’s fighting the world like he was at Chelsea.

“He went to war with Pep when they were at Real Madrid and Barcelona and you just hope he does it again.

“Sir Alex Ferguson did it all the time with managers that were competing against him. With a couple more wins under his belt, I hope we see the real Jose.

“I look back at previous managers of this club and they’ve never been afraid of saying what they want and acting like they have.

“Yes, there are traditions you have to uphold but United fans want to see the real Jose bring the siege mentality he had at Chelsea to Old Trafford.”

Neville thinks the Red Devils’ recent poor form isn’t as bad as it seems and thinks they could haul themselves back into title contention with a couple of positive results.

“When you look at United’s next six games, victory over City can act as a springboard,” he added. “United aren’t on a disastrous run, they’ve only lost one in the last seven.

“If they start hitting the ground now in the league, they are still in the title race as they’re only six points behind the leaders.

“City aren’t playing well, and teams are dropping points so it’s not a disaster.”