There aren’t many fighting in Jose Mourinho’s corner at the moment, but Jose Morais is certainly one of them.
Having worked with the current Manchester United manager at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea, Morais is better placed than most to know the methods which Mourinho has been using for some time.
Currently in charge at FC Karpaty Lviv in Ukraine, the 53 year old has been speaking to Record and it was inevitable the Portuguese newspaper would ask about his former boss.
Morais explained that he worked in a planning role at Chelsea, detailing the threats of the opposition and reporting back to Mourinho. But that wasn’t a restricted job, with the man in charge happy to let Morais have input on training and other matters.
Record asked about Mourinho’s ‘irregular’ situation and wanted to know if Morais feels it’s now easier to play against the manager’s teams.
He obviously wasn’t going to say yes, and explained: “The focus on the teams of Mourinho is daily. The top clubs are subject to great wear and tear because if you succeed in one year, in the next you are a reference team and the opponents want to attain glory by beating you.
“I believe that Mourinho, sooner or later, will give more quality to the team, because he has that capacity and experience. But we also know that, in media terms, everything that happens to Mourinho is a story. In this case, there are many stories that do not help the squad be stable.
“Nowadays, the players are very unstable and let themselves be influenced by much, be it the press or by what people say. They are less focused because there is Facebook, Instagram, the hairstyle… There are many aspects to managing and to making sure that the structure is very attentive. Regardless of having worked with him, I focus on what is positive about Jose Mourinho.”
The haircut comment may be taken as a jibe at Paul Pogba, who has had a well publicised run in with his Manchester United manager recently, but it seems more a general point rather than specific.
Asked if he’d like to work with his former boss again, Morais said he’d be ‘happy’ to do so.
