Le Tissier says Mourinho’s programme notes were ‘wrong’

Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier says Jose Mourinho needs to be more honest and believes criticism of the fans is a a battle he cannot win.

Mourinho’s men laboured to a 2-0 win over Benfica on Tuesday night and ahead of the game Mourinho had a dig at the United fans after some boos were heard during the weekend’s 1-0 win over Tottenham.

Mourinho’s  programme notes read: “I hope that you enjoy the game more than some of you did against Tottenham.”

The Portuguese coach’s decision to replace Marcus Rashford with Anthony Martial against Spurs did not go down too well, although the Frenchman did go on to score a late winner.

Le Tissier, speaking on The Debate, says Mourinho needs to come clean and admit that without Paul Pogba, United have to be more pragmatic.

“They started off the season playing really well, hitting four goals on a regular basis. That was when Pogba was in the team, and perhaps he’s a bigger miss than people realise,” said the former Southampton striker.

“Because of that – and I think Jose realises it – he’s changed the way his team are playing and has become far more pragmatic. He’s just trying to get wins, trying to keep himself in it until Pogba comes back.”

On the subject of taking on the United fans, he added: “No. I think he’s wrong to try and take on the United fans. To have a dig in the programme, I think it’s a battle you can’t win.

“There’s 75,000 of them in the ground, there’s one of you! You might have some programme notes to say them in, but you’ve got to be careful where you pick your fights. And I think he’s picked the wrong one there.

“For me, I think you can’t go and fight that battle. I think he’d be better off being honest with people, saying he’s missing his best man, and to say that with this team and Pogba out, this is the best way to get results, and when Pogba comes back we can open up and be more expansive. I just think he’s gone about it the wrong way.”

Manchester United Jose Mourinho

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