Jose Mourinho has given a very clear indication of his plans to rebuild his squad this summer by claiming that some players are not going to “make it” after questioning their mentality.
Mourinho, whose team can secure second in the Premier League with a point against West Ham United on Thursday, has criticised his team’s performance on several occasions this season and most recently after the 1-0 loss against Brighton.
That defeat was the third time United had been beaten by a promoted team away from home this campaign after defeats at Huddersfield Town and Newcastle United.
“How many points separate us from Manchester City?” Mourinho said. “Not two, three or four. A lot of points.
“Some of the people we have, they have to be more consistent in their performance and we need more quality. I trust some more than others that can bridge that gap. That’s normal. I know the players. I worked with the players for a couple of years, so I know them better than anyone.
“And of course, some of the players I am totally convinced are going to make it, some others I have good hopes that they are going to make it and some others I don’t believe they are going to make it. In my squad, I have some players where I would like to have better than what I have. That’s basic.”
United have dropped a total of nine points against the promoted teams this season.
And Mourinho conceded he cannot accept such a poor return from those games, especially when his players have been able to win against their rivals at the top end of the table.
“For me, to win against all the small teams and to lose against all the big teams — when I say ‘small’ and ‘big’, forgive my basic English, I would prefer to explain it another way — but when you lose against the small teams and you win against the big teams, it’s not right,” he said.
“When you lose against the big teams and you win against the small teams, that is also not right. I think it’s normal that during the season, you have your low moments, but in a balanced way. When you lose against all the teams that were promoted, that doesn’t smell right for me.”
With United ending their season against West Ham and Watford — two teams that are in the bottom half of the table — they have the chance to end the season on a winning note.
But Mourinho has told his players that the only way to win against small teams is to approach those games in the same way they would approach a big game against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool.
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“Try to succeed in getting every player to have the same mentality as I have,” Mourinho said, when asked how he can change United’s inconsistency against the weaker teams. “To have the same mentality as I have, is to face every game in the same way.
“I am not afraid to play against the big teams and I respect the small teams, and I prepare a match against a big team in the same way I prepare a match against a small team.
“For me, the match against the big team is not different to the match against the small team. Big and small, I don’t like it [those terms], but that’s the way I can express it.”
