United We Stand Editor Andy Mitten does not believe the rumours that Zinedine Zidane is being lined up as a replacement for José Mourinho at Old Trafford.
The pressure is piling up on the Portuguese manager after United were beaten 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night but Mitten told OTB AM that the club have no interest in sacking Mourinho after just three games of the new season.
“What is the way out of this? Well, I still think there are a lot of very good players there,” he said. “This is a team that finished second in the Premier League last year. They didn’t finish 14th. But they’re not playing for their manager, and that’s a problem.
“People say to me: ‘When’s he gonna last? He’s going to be gone in a month, isn’t he? He’s going to be gone in two months.’ I don’t know the answer. I don’t think he knows the answer.
“If you ask Ed Woodward now, he doesn’t want to sack José Mourinho and even a lot of Manchester United fans will still back him. Partly because it’s very early, partly because there’s no obvious Plan B at the moment. Who do you bring in now?
“There’s the fanciful choice, Zinedine Zidane. I spoke to people at Madrid on Sunday night. I watched Real Madrid on Sunday night and people who know Zidane don’t know anything about that link. He doesn’t speak English.
“If you were Zidane, who’s just won three consecutive European Cups, the last thing I’d want to do is walk into Manchester United. Maybe he would see that as a challenge but I’m getting well ahead of myself here. At this moment, I don’t think there’s any intention from the club to sack José Mourinho.”
Kevin Beirne
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