Paul Ince has defended Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho for the way he reacted to Marcus Rashford’s miss in his side’s 1-0 win over Young Boys.
The 21-year-old forward ran clean through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat but he clipped the ball over the crossbar at 0-0 during the Champions League tie on Tuesday.
Mourinho crossed his arms and looked away in disgust when the England international missed early on.
Paul Ince has defended Jose Mourinho for the way he reacted to Marcus Rashford’s miss
Rashford ran clean through on goal and clipped the ball over the bar with the score still at 0-0
Mourinho crossed his arms and looked away in disgust when the forward missed on Tuesday
‘I don’t think how Jose reacted to Marcus Rashford’s miss was that bad. I really don’t. People are trying to make him a scapegoat. Just because he looked up to the stand and said “Jesus, how do you miss that?”‘ Ince told Paddy Power News.
‘I’ve seen loads of managers do the same. Pep Guardiola has gone to his bench and said “What more can I do if they’re going to miss chances like that?”. There’s nothing in it.
‘The bottom line is that Rashford is a Manchester United player. So, when he’s one-on-one with a goalkeeper, in an important match, you’d expect him to score. Mark Hughes, Dwight Yorke, Ruud Van Nistelrooy all would’ve scored it – that’s the expectation on a United centre forward.
Ince said: ‘Pundits likes Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, the ones who keep having a go at Mourinho and United all the time, they’ve not managed’
‘So Mourinho’s reaction makes total sense. Fergie (Sir Alex Ferguson) would’ve run on to the touchline and started hammering someone for missing that chance. So I’m not having this criticism of Jose, not one bit, it’s just another case of people trying to jump on his back.’
Ince won the Premier League twice during his six-year spell at Old Trafford and played for seven other clubs.
Since hanging up hit boots in 2007, the 51-year-old has managed Macclesfield, MK Dons, Blackburn, Notts County and Blackpool and believes his time in charge means he can understand where Mourinho is coming from.
Ince believes his time as a manager means he can understand where Mourinho is coming from
‘Jose Mourinho is an emotional man, he has been all his career. We know that – but, at the minute, everything he does, everybody is jumping on it, trying to make it a negative story,’ Ince added.
‘Pundits likes Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, the ones who keep having a go at Mourinho and United all the time, they’ve not managed, they’ve not had to make the big decisions.
‘I understand they have to have opinions – I’ve done both roles, I can see it from both sides – but they don’t know what it’s like to be in that situation as a manager.’
Paul Ince was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power News. To read more, visit here.