Nine months after his departure from Manchester United, have the club's supporters softened their stance on Jose Mourinho? While the Portuguese manager's tenure at Old Trafford had grown stale, it has since become apparent that many of the clubs problems were not his doing.
After Mourinho repeatedly criticised United's approach in the transfer market, they once again struggled in that area this summer. They managed to sign Harry Maguire, but after negotiating for two months only to end up paying Leicester's original asking price.
They also signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and couple this with their failure to offload fringe members of the squad, it means United enter this season with 14 senior defenders on their books.
They failed in their attempts to strengthen the midfield, while also allowing Romelu Lukaku to leave without bringing in a replacement.
Mourinho is acting as a pundit on Sky Sports this afternoon, where he was asked about United's prospects for the upcoming season. The conversation also got around to his final season at the club, where he admitted that he knew the squad wasn't good enough before a ball was even kicked.
"The dressing room must feel they can win the title, if they don't they're in trouble. I think to finish top 4 would be a good achievement for them."
Jose Mourinho on what would be a successful season for Manchester United this year.
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In the Premier League, the dressing room must feel they can win the title. They must feel it, if the don't feel it they are in trouble.
But I think to finish top four would be a good achievement for them...
No (he didn't think they could win the title last season). When I said that the second position in the previous season was one of my biggest achievements in football, I was not having fun with words. I was just telling you what I was feeling.
I didn't feel that last season we done enough in the transfer market to allow us to compete for first. We finished second, but the distance to first was very considerable.
