Mourinho slams United’s ‘lack of personality and desire’

MANCHESTER: A day after he took on his critics in a news conference diatribe, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho took aim at his players after a lacklustre performance in their 2-0 FA Cup win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Mourinho had made little direct criticism of his team after Tuesday’s poor display in the Champions League defeat by Sevilla or on Friday when he defended his work and questioned assumptions about United’s heritage. But this time his anger was firmly directed at the majority of his players.

“I didn’t like the game. I think we deserved to win because I think the game was in control for the majority, we scored two and they didn’t score, but we didn’t play as I prepared the team to play,” he told BT Sport.

Mourinho singled out midfielder Nemanja Matic, who created the first goal for Romelu Lukaku and added the second himself with a late header, as one of the few players he was satisfied with.“Many, many times Matic was an island of personality and desire and control, surrounded, not by water but by a lack of personality, class and desire,” said the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager.