AS Roma manager José Mourinho has distanced himself from the vacant Newcastle United job, but reports linking him to the Tyneside club won’t go away.
Fresh from a takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Magpies are looking for a new manager after parting ways with Steve Bruce.
Mourinho’s predecessor at the Serie A side, Paulo Fonseca, is reportedly in talks with the Premier League side. However, Calciomercato.it state the ‘ghost’ of Newcastle and the former Chelsea manager ‘returns to being concrete’
Roma suffered a 6-1 humiliating loss against FK Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, which is the worst defeat in the Portuguese tactician’s coaching career.
After the tie, Mourinho publicly criticised his players, stating that he doesn’t have a good squad at the Italian club.
Journalist Enrico Camelio was unhappy with the manager’s comments. He was also critical of Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto, who spent close to €100m on new players in the summer, and urged him to resign.
“There’s a 70% chance that, if it continues like this, then he goes to Newcastle. If he didn’t like the squad, he shouldn’t have come. Pinto needs to be fired and Mourinho, he’s the second culprit: 60% of the fault is Tiago’s, and the rest is Mourinho’s,” Camelio told Calciomercato.it.
Another journalist, Mario Sconcerti, pointed out Mourinho’s comments should leave Roma worried.
“Not a good way to react. What would the club do tomorrow if two players said that Mourinho is a poor coach and does not know how to coach them? They would justly ostracise them for a few weeks, perhaps forever,” Sconcerti wrote in his column for Calciomercato.
“Mourinho did the same thing with half of his players. If he were right, one would have to wonder where he was when the team was built.
“But there is another reason for concern: if half of the squad is not at the level of the other, why put it on the pitch all together? You cannot send an entire team of reserves into the competition and then also say that they are scarce.
“You have chosen them, you train them and they represent you.”
