Chronicle Editor
Cape Town — Ex-Manchester United star Phil Neville has come to the defence of Jose Mourinho, claiming that criticism of the Portuguese manager is becoming “personal”.
Neville, who played as a defender or midfielder before later serving as first team coach under then manager David Moyes, has urged the Red Devils to restore the togetherness in the club which existed during Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27-year spell in charge.
This comes in the wake of a claim by Mourinho that he was being subjected to a “manhunt” and blamed for everything going wrong at Old Trafford.
“I think Jose is still someone that I look up to and admire because managers go through tough times,” said the current England women’s head coach, as quoted by Goal.
“I’ve been sacked twice and it hurts when people level things at you, in defeat or at bad times, it can get personal and maybe some of it has got personal with Jose.
“I agree with Jose. I think there is a bit of a manhunt out there — everyone seems to be looking at him. I think they’ve got the right man who can handle that sort of situation.”
Neville called for unity from top to bottom within the club, claiming that the team reaped the benefits of it during their 3-2 comeback win over Newcastle United on Saturday.
“My feeling when I think of the great Manchester United teams, I think of the togetherness of the whole club,” he said.
“The directors coming down in the dressing room after we had won European Cup finals, FA Cup finals — we shared the success. We used to celebrate with the supporters on the bus tours of the city.
“It’s all or nothing. You can’t go fighting a war on your own, you’ve got to fight it together and I think that would be the biggest thing about Saturday — all of a sudden everyone came together.” — Sport24.
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