Quotes: Mourinho's press conference
Welcome to ManUtd.com's live blog for Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conference at the Aon Training Complex on Friday 23 December. Scroll down the page for the manager's latest quotes on injuries, Morgan Schneiderlin, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Boxing Day match with Sunderland...
Injury update from the boss
"It’s good to have everyone available apart from Luke Shaw, who is not far [away]. In the central defender position, we now have all of them. Smalling is back, Bailly is back, Rojo is fine, Blind is fine, so it’s a position where it’s very important to have some stability in the options. We were in a difficult position a couple of months ago but now we are safe. We know that Bailly is going to the African Cup [of Nations] in January, but for the next three matches, we have them."
Jose addresses Schneiderlin talk
"He’s a great professional, a fantastic boy. He's very honest and open. He opened his heart, and my answer is simple; if he’s playing regularly with me, I have the right to say ‘no way’. If he’s not playing regularly, I have no right to tell a player who wants to be happy, I have no right to say ‘you are going nowhere’. My answer was: if the offer is right, and our board thinks it is a good offer in relation to the quality of a very good player like Morgan, then I would not stop him."
More on Ibra's quality
“He will end his career on a high, which is amazing," said Jose. "He’s not ending it in America or China; he’s ending it on the top of the top. I’m really pleased with him; his record is really good, and he can improve. With no penalties [among his 16 goals so far], it’s amazing too because normally the other guys who are top scorers score a lot of penalties. He had one penalty in 17 Premier League matches, so I couldn’t be happier with him."
Delighted with Zlatan's form
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now scored 16 goals for United this season and Mourinho is not concerned that he is the club's top scorer by a stretch. “It’s no problem for me," he said. "I’m really happy for him because maybe some people think he’s not a top scorer any more at 35 years old, not anymore because the Premier League is not La Liga, but 35 for him is the same as 25. In La Liga, it’s the same as in the Premier League - he plays well, he scores goals and I’m very happy for him.”
Everyone wants success
Continuing his answer to the question below, Mourinho said: “Here, I have felt people with open arms. It’s not just a very calm and intelligent board and owners, they know what they want, they have big experience already and they’re very calm and pragmatic, I have good conditions to work. The players and people that surround me, I felt some sadness because people that love football obviously want to be successful and everyone tries to help to go in the same direction."
Jose never looks back
Prompted to compare his first six months with United to previous clubs, Jose said: “I don’t like to compare. Honestly, I don’t like to compare. I think you know me; you don’t hear from me many opinions, many stories, even comparing previous clubs. When I leave clubs, I close the door, I close the chapter, I wish them well and say goodbye. I try to be happy. I don’t go in that direction.”
On following Sir Alex Ferguson
One journalist asked Mourinho if he ever thought the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era would be this difficult for United. “Not really, not really," Jose said. "I was in another club; when I’m in a club, I just think about my club. I don’t lose my time thinking about other things, so not really. What I knew was the evolution of the Premier League, I knew the direction, the new direction of the league and I knew that periods of domination belong to the past because the league was already going in an
Mourinho's easy decision
Going into more detail about his thinking ahead of joining United, the manager told reporters: "I thought about the difficulty of the job, I thought to myself why the club in the past three years was going - in terms of results - in a different direction. I tried to answer myself that, but I couldn’t think much about coming to United, it was an easy decision."
Did Jose speak to Moyes?
Asked whether he spoke to former United boss and current Sunderland manager David Moyes ahead of taking over at Old Trafford, Mourinho said: “No. I didn’t speak to many people, and David was also not a person that I asked for. I think that when you have Manchester United and you are in another club, maybe you think twice, but if you have Manchester United and you don’t have a club, you are not working, I don’t think you have a lot to think about."
I have passion for my work
Expanding on his first answer, the manager continued: “Expectations are high, results are up and down, and we are in a position where we don’t want to be. I have passion for my work, passion for my new work. I’m feeling really happy here."
Start of Jose's press conference
Asked about acclimatising to the United job, the manager started by saying: “For me it was easy [to acclimatise]. It’s a difficult job, but it’s easy to feel at home, easy to feel good at the club, easy to feel that the club wants to progress and the people want to be happy again. I felt good immediately, I’ve had five or six months here and have really felt at home so, for me, it was easy."
Jose: The squad is strong
"Obviously in the squad there are always people who are not playing, they always feel a little bit of frustration because a football player wants to play and not be on the bench," Jose told MUTV. "But they are friends, they have very good relationships."
Update on Luke Shaw
Mourinho has revealed Luke Shaw's injury spell is coming to an end, even if the defender is not expected to feature against Sunderland on Boxing Day. "The squad is good," Mourinho explained during his interview with MUTV. "We don't have many injuries. Even the Luke Shaw injury is coming to an end. We are fine. People are happy."
Young Red meets United heroes
Earlier we published the latest in our series of Christmas surprise videos, presented by Chevrolet. This ones features Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard visited a young United fan at a Street Reds project in Salford. It's definitely worth a watch.
Defoe ready for the Reds
Jermain Defoe has been talking about United to Sunderland TV. "If you look at them now, they are probably playing their best football," he said. "They are confident so it is going to be a tough game, but it always is against Man United away at Old Trafford. It is a game that as players you have to look forward to, embrace and enjoy."
12:15 GMT
Mourinho's press conference
Hello and welcome to ManUtd.com's live blog for Jose Mourinho's press conference. The manager is set to sit down with the media at the Aon Training Complex to preview the Boxing Day encounter with Sunderland, and you can follow updates from 13:00 GMT.
Quotes: Mourinho's press conference
Welcome to ManUtd.com's live blog for Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conference at the Aon Training Complex on Friday 23 December. Scroll down the page for the manager's latest quotes on injuries, Morgan Schneiderlin, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Boxing Day match with Sunderland...
Injury update from the boss
"It’s good to have everyone available apart from Luke Shaw, who is not far [away]. In the central defender position, we now have all of them. Smalling is back, Bailly is back, Rojo is fine, Blind is fine, so it’s a position where it’s very important to have some stability in the options. We were in a difficult position a couple of months ago but now we are safe. We know that Bailly is going to the African Cup [of Nations] in January, but for the next three matches, we have them."
Jose addresses Schneiderlin talk
"He’s a great professional, a fantastic boy. He's very honest and open. He opened his heart, and my answer is simple; if he’s playing regularly with me, I have the right to say ‘no way’. If he’s not playing regularly, I have no right to tell a player who wants to be happy, I have no right to say ‘you are going nowhere’. My answer was: if the offer is right, and our board thinks it is a good offer in relation to the quality of a very good player like Morgan, then I would not stop him."
More on Ibra's quality
“He will end his career on a high, which is amazing," said Jose. "He’s not ending it in America or China; he’s ending it on the top of the top. I’m really pleased with him; his record is really good, and he can improve. With no penalties [among his 16 goals so far], it’s amazing too because normally the other guys who are top scorers score a lot of penalties. He had one penalty in 17 Premier League matches, so I couldn’t be happier with him."
Delighted with Zlatan's form
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now scored 16 goals for United this season and Mourinho is not concerned that he is the club's top scorer by a stretch. “It’s no problem for me," he said. "I’m really happy for him because maybe some people think he’s not a top scorer any more at 35 years old, not anymore because the Premier League is not La Liga, but 35 for him is the same as 25. In La Liga, it’s the same as in the Premier League - he plays well, he scores goals and I’m very happy for him.”
Everyone wants success
Continuing his answer to the question below, Mourinho said: “Here, I have felt people with open arms. It’s not just a very calm and intelligent board and owners, they know what they want, they have big experience already and they’re very calm and pragmatic, I have good conditions to work. The players and people that surround me, I felt some sadness because people that love football obviously want to be successful and everyone tries to help to go in the same direction."
Jose never looks back
Prompted to compare his first six months with United to previous clubs, Jose said: “I don’t like to compare. Honestly, I don’t like to compare. I think you know me; you don’t hear from me many opinions, many stories, even comparing previous clubs. When I leave clubs, I close the door, I close the chapter, I wish them well and say goodbye. I try to be happy. I don’t go in that direction.”
On following Sir Alex Ferguson
One journalist asked Mourinho if he ever thought the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era would be this difficult for United. “Not really, not really," Jose said. "I was in another club; when I’m in a club, I just think about my club. I don’t lose my time thinking about other things, so not really. What I knew was the evolution of the Premier League, I knew the direction, the new direction of the league and I knew that periods of domination belong to the past because the league was already going in an
Mourinho's easy decision
Going into more detail about his thinking ahead of joining United, the manager told reporters: "I thought about the difficulty of the job, I thought to myself why the club in the past three years was going - in terms of results - in a different direction. I tried to answer myself that, but I couldn’t think much about coming to United, it was an easy decision."
Did Jose speak to Moyes?
Asked whether he spoke to former United boss and current Sunderland manager David Moyes ahead of taking over at Old Trafford, Mourinho said: “No. I didn’t speak to many people, and David was also not a person that I asked for. I think that when you have Manchester United and you are in another club, maybe you think twice, but if you have Manchester United and you don’t have a club, you are not working, I don’t think you have a lot to think about."
I have passion for my work
Expanding on his first answer, the manager continued: “Expectations are high, results are up and down, and we are in a position where we don’t want to be. I have passion for my work, passion for my new work. I’m feeling really happy here."
Start of Jose's press conference
Asked about acclimatising to the United job, the manager started by saying: “For me it was easy [to acclimatise]. It’s a difficult job, but it’s easy to feel at home, easy to feel good at the club, easy to feel that the club wants to progress and the people want to be happy again. I felt good immediately, I’ve had five or six months here and have really felt at home so, for me, it was easy."
Jose: The squad is strong
"Obviously in the squad there are always people who are not playing, they always feel a little bit of frustration because a football player wants to play and not be on the bench," Jose told MUTV. "But they are friends, they have very good relationships."
Update on Luke Shaw
Mourinho has revealed Luke Shaw's injury spell is coming to an end, even if the defender is not expected to feature against Sunderland on Boxing Day. "The squad is good," Mourinho explained during his interview with MUTV. "We don't have many injuries. Even the Luke Shaw injury is coming to an end. We are fine. People are happy."
Young Red meets United heroes
Earlier we published the latest in our series of Christmas surprise videos, presented by Chevrolet. This ones features Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard visited a young United fan at a Street Reds project in Salford. It's definitely worth a watch.
Defoe ready for the Reds
Jermain Defoe has been talking about United to Sunderland TV. "If you look at them now, they are probably playing their best football," he said. "They are confident so it is going to be a tough game, but it always is against Man United away at Old Trafford. It is a game that as players you have to look forward to, embrace and enjoy."
12:15 GMT
Mourinho's press conference
Hello and welcome to ManUtd.com's live blog for Jose Mourinho's press conference. The manager is set to sit down with the media at the Aon Training Complex to preview the Boxing Day encounter with Sunderland, and you can follow updates from 13:00 GMT.
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