The occasional shimmer of greatness is not enough for Manchester United, and journalist Andy Mitten believes that Paul Pogba needs an iridescent showing against Sevilla tonight to justify his place at the club. Andy spoke to Ger and Eoin on OTB AM about the midfielder’s current political situation at Old Trafford, his relationship with Jose Mourinho and the feeling on the ground among United’s travelling fans.
Mourinho likes to position the media to catch his best angle, and was keen to show that Pogba was in full training and contention for United’s match this evening. But whether this means that the midfielder will start remains in some doubt.
“I felt Mourinho sent out some slightly mixed messages, slightly cryptic messages, and the opinions among the journalists were certainly split over whether Paul Pogba would start tonight. That’s because none of the journalists really know what has gone on between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho. I don’t know what has fully gone on. I have good contacts at Manchester United, people have spoken to me – I understand that their relationship has been better in the past, but also that that is entirely normal between a football player and his manager, they have their ups and their downs.”
The remainder of this season could be crucial to Pogba’s future in Manchester, with Mourinho having signed a contract extension that bolsters his political standing at a club whose hierarchy is a little more muddied than under the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. There remain questions over whether the Frenchman was a Mourinho signing, or motivated more by the commercial arm of the club.
“Paul Pogba is facing his most difficult time at Manchester United – he had a dreadful game at Tottenham, he was ill at Huddersfield and he was very poor at Newcastle. [Like Eden Hazard at the Camp Nou], there’s a real expectation among the 2,500 Manchester United fans in Sevilla that Paul Pogba needs one of those games where he justifies that huge transfer fee, and Mourinho always plays down that fee.
“I see why he does it – he’s trying to protect his player, and he did it again last night – but Pogba really needs to stand out in a huge game for Manchester United. He’s been really good once this season - at Everton on New Year’s Day - where he played in the more attacking role that he prefers. But he needs to do that in a place like Sevilla, away in the Champions League, because the doubts are starting to increase about Paul Pogba.
“He had a bit of it a year ago - he had a terrible game against Liverpool in January 2017 - but he had a good season last year. But good is not good enough for Manchester United, just as it wouldn’t be for Barcelona. If you are Paul Pogba, you need to become a great player. I think that if he gets his chance against Sevilla, if he does really well, what will then happen is both he and Mourinho will come out and say ‘There’s been no issue all along – you’re all wrong, you’re all talking absolute nonsense.’”
Football’s focus will be on the Alhambra to see whether the next chapter of the melodrama will benefit the Reds.
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