Manchester United manager José Mourinho spoke to Brazil’s RedeTV after the 2-2 draw against Southampton at the weekend.
Speaking to reporter Renato Senise, the Portuguese boss first spoke about the formation, as he was forced to use two midfielders in defence to replace the centre-backs who were unavailable.
“In the absence of more central defenders to play, we had to occupy that area with players who are midfielders, who do not know how to play in defence, who have no characteristics to play in the defence, but who occupied that area in a zonal way, tried to hide the weaknesses that everyone knew we had,” José Mourinho told RedeTV.
“Until last year I said that finishing second was a fantastic thing because of the qualities we had in comparison to the quality of the other teams that are fighting for the top four. Already last year I said it. And this year with more problems that we have had, it proves what I said at the beginning of the season, that it would be a very difficult season.”
On his aspirations for the season, he said: “Try to win as many points as possible and try almost the miracle of finishing fourth.”
Manchester United fans probably agree that now it would be a big achievement to finish fourth, but that certainly wasn’t the case with the strength the squad has at the beginning of the season.
Maybe if Mourinho sticks around and guides his team to fourth place, he can herald it as one of the biggest achievements of his career.
