Mourinho defends United record in12-minute rant

MANCHESTER: Jose Mourinho mounted an impassioned defence of his record at Manchester United on Friday after stinging criticism following his side’s miserable exit from the Champions League.

After the struggles of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal following Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, the Premier League club turned to the Portuguese in a bid to bring success back to Old Trafford.

United won the Europa League and League Cup in his first season but the FA Cup is the only silverware realistically achievable this year after Tuesday’s last-16 exit to Sevilla.“I say to the fans that they have the right to their opinions and reactions but there is something that I used to call football heritage,” said Mourinho.

“And what a manager inherits is something like the last time Manchester United won the Champions League — which didn’t happen a lot of times — was in 2008.”Mourinho pointed out that in seven seasons under four different managers, United’s best performance in the Champions League has been a quarter-final appearance and the club’s highest finish in the league since Ferguson retired was fourth.