Jose Mourinho began his second spell at Chelsea declaring that he was "the happy one", a beaming smile that soon turned to that unique Mourinho grimace: all self-pity and wounded pride as his tenure ended with his chucking his players under the bus they once helped park.
Mourinho decided no such affectations need adorn his opening press conference at United, and he wore a largely glum expression as he was unveiled at Old Trafford. Mourinho has been largely phlegmatic up to now at United, but that's beginning to turn. Defeat at Chelsea in Monday night witnessed a return of the old Mourinho: he fired a backhander at referee Michael Oliver: " a referee of great potential" was Mou's pithy grenade of choice.
His post-match press conference furnished a few memorable quotes also, notably on his goading by Chelsea fans:
When they have somebody who wins four PLs for them, I'll be No2. For this moment, Judas is No1.
The hours after the game gave Mourinho further reason to complain, although this time, the criticism is directed toward his own club.
The story has come from the Daily Record's David McDonnell.
Mourinho was upset that a jet organised to take the United squad back to Manchester failed was delayed by more than three hours, meaning the squad travelled back to Manchester by bus, arriving home at around 4am on Tuesday morning, hampering preparation for the European tie with Rostov on Thursday evening.
Other frustrations spill out in the article:
There have been complaints of penny pinching over replica shirts and tickets for first teamers. Injured players have been prevented from undergoing rehabilitation work at the club's multimillion pound training facility for health and safety reasons.
The article also quotes a United source asking a pretty remarkable question:
“Are Manchester United still a big club? Things like this make it look like a very small one.
You can read the full piece on the Daily Record website.
