Jose Mourinho has lost control of the dressing room at Manchester United and should step away from football for a year to refocus, says former Reds winger Andrei Kanchelskis.
Mourinho suffered his latest disappointment as manager on Wednesday night when his much-changed side fell to defeat in the Champions League away at Valencia with Premier League leaders Liverpool up next.
For Kanchelskis, who scored 36 goals in 162 games for United, winning two Premier Leagues, a League Cup and FA Cup, United’s fierce rivals are in a different class right now with Mourinho needing to take the blame for poor results this season.
Jose Mourinho has ‘lost control’ of the Man United dressing room, says Andrei Kanchelskis
The ex-United winger also says Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are different class right now to United
‘Mourinho has lost control and respect of the big players at Man Utd. Pogba, De Gea and Lukaku clearly aren’t happy, and I don’t think they have any contact with Mourinho outside of their matches,’ the 39-year-old told bookmakers bwin.
‘He needs to keep everyone happy, but these are the players that will get Man Utd back into Premier League contention so he can’t afford for them to lose focus.
‘There is clearly tension between Mourinho and certain players, and that has affected the whole dressing room.
Defeat to Valencia on Wednesday was just the latest setback for United in a difficult campaign
For Kanchelskis, the manager has lost the belief of his players and it is impacting on results
‘Before the game and at half time, you need to keep a positive mentality in the changing room, but there’s clearly a negative atmosphere that is impacting the players performance and Mourinho has to take responsibility for that. Criticising the players in public is unlikely to help that’s for sure.’
Kanchelskis worked under legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at the club and while having not worked with Mourinho directly, he feels the current atmosphere marks stark contrast to that cultivated by the iconic Scot.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson’s changing room was filled with players who wanted to fight for each other, the club and the fans, but that isn’t the case anymore,’ he added.
‘Mourinho is at fault, but the players need to take responsibility too. The players have to motivate themselves and want success for the club, but they’re letting their personal issues come first.
‘Ferguson was a big figure, who motivated every player to go and win, that is why he was so successful.
Despite not playing under Mourinho, Kanchelskis feels the atmosphere is not a positive one
The Ukrainian described what made Sir Alex Ferguson successful when helping his players
‘If a player tried to break that, then there was no place for them, and we’re perhaps seeing that starting to happen now with certain players being left out in recent weeks.’
One player who has found himself out of favour in recent weeks is the much maligned Paul Pogba.
The Frenchman came back into the side for the 2-1 loss at Valencia but did little to get back into Mourinho’s good books after a disappointing night.
But for Kanchelskis, it is Mourinho who is not doing enough to maximise the effectiveness of Pogba and the central midfielder should leave to become a ‘great’ elsewhere.
He said: ‘I think Paul Pogba will be seeking a move to Real Madrid this summer. I don’t think his style of play is suited for the Premier League, and we will see his brilliance in the Italian or Spanish league.
The former winger also feels Paul Pogba should leave the club to become a Real Madrid ‘great’
The Frenchman has been out of favour in recent weeks as his fall out with Mourinho goes on
‘He may not suit the Barcelona style of play, but he’s perfect for Real Madrid. He’ll be able to express himself more freely on the field for them.
‘Pogba has failed to show consistency with his performances since joining United and it’s time for a change. If Pogba wants to go down as a great, he needs to find a team that suits his play.
‘(Diego) Maradona never found his feet properly at Barcelona, but turned in to a world beater at Napoli and I think this could be the same for Pogba.’
United have found themselves on the receiving end of some sharp criticism from former players during the tenure of Mourinho with Rio Ferdinand, Paul Ince, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen and Paul Scholes all bemoaning the style of play.
Heading to face a Liverpool side full of confidence at Anfield on Sunday, United know defeat could see them fall 11 points adrift of the top four by the end of play if results elsewhere do not go in their favour.