Man Utd players ordered to IGNORE Jose Mourinho for one reason
MANCHESTER UNITED players have been ordered to ignore instructions from Jose Mourinho by Arsenal legend Martin Keown, ahead of their crunch match against Liverpool on Sunday.
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United have forlornly accumulated 26 points so far, leaving them 16 points adrift from their cross-city rivals.
Fans are becoming disgruntled with Mourinho’s placid style, which has produced a litany of apathetic performances this season.
The Red Devils have managed only six points from their last five league games, and the defensive nous which garnered Mourinho points but stylistic criticism has been lost of late.
Two clean sheets from 16 games reflects the troubles of the backline, which has been exacerbated by the lack of consistency in selection.
These Manchester United players almost need to stop listening to their manager - to ignore him
Martin Keown
Furthermore, the 26 league goals already shipped this term is just two short of the tally conceded in the 2017/18 campaign.
Much of 20-time champions’ troubles have come off the pitch, too, where Mourinho has alienated senior players such as Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, as well as spinning back-page results into stories about his records and past successes.
And Keown, who won three Premier League titles at Arsenal, believes the time has come for United’s players to mount a mutiny on their boss.
“These Manchester United players almost need to stop listening to their manager - to ignore him,” Keown told Football Focus.
Manchester United players have been urged by Martin Keown to ignore Jose Mourinho (Image: Getty)
Jose Mourinho faces Jurgen Klopp on the weekend (Image: Getty)
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“If the manager is detrimental to the results, and I’ve seen it close up… I honestly feel the players are on their own. I don’t know the identity of the team.”
Reasoning his outlandish plea, the BBC Sport pundit explained: “To a man, I think some of the performances are the worst we’ve seen for, what, 25 years or so.
“It’s that bad. And Mourinho is talking about a virus in the dressing room.
“There’s no confidence, the manager looks totally unhappy with the situation he’s in.
Jose Mouinho has a strong record at Anfield (Image: BBC)
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“When have Manchester United ever been this vulnerable? They are there for the taking. One hundred per cent there for the taking.”
The former Gunners defender then applied salt to the wounds of the Portuguese boss, praising his Liverpool counterpart.
“Jurgen Klopp is a complete opposite - he loves his players, there’s working relationship,” Keown said.
‘The Special One’ does have a strong Premier League record at Anfield, however, losing just one of eight visits.
Jose Mourinho was slated by Martin Keown on Football Focus (Image: BBC)
Keown’s colleague, Kevin Kilbane, disagreed with the former Arsenal captain’s advice to United players, believing that Mourinho can engineer another memorable win against the odds, for which he has become renowned.
“I agree with the fact that performances haven’t been great this year,” Kilbane admitted.
“But I don’t think any player ever goes with the attitude of thinking: ‘I can’t take on what the manager is saying to me.’ You have to do it, you simply have to do that.”