Jose Mourinho has failed his Manchester United stars, blasts PFA chief
JOSE MOURINHO has been slammed by PFA boss Gordon Taylor over his treatment of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling.
SunSport revealed the Manchester United dressing room had backed boss Mourinho after he publicly accused the pair of not being willing to put the team’s needs ahead of their own fitness worries.
Both players were left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Friday's World Cup qualifier with Scotland.
Keep up to date with ALL the Manchester United news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary.
And Taylor has accused Mourinho of neglecting his obligations towards the duo.
He said: “I was disappointed with what Jose said because knowing the individuals, they are both highly thought of.
“They’ve got personal problems which I don’t need to relay. But, sometimes, a manager needs to be a psychologist as well — and also to be a counsellor.
“You cannot treat everybody in the team the same way, every manager must know that.
“It’s a short-term career and we’re all human beings. I think that’s what management these days has to be.
“I’m not talking about being soft, I’m talking about understanding.”
It is not the first time Mourinho has been criticised over his treatment of staff.
The Special One was accused of jeopardising the welfare of his players at Chelsea last season — following his high-profile bust-up with club medic Dr Eva Carneiro.
Fifa, the PFA, medical organisations and former FA chief Greg Dyke all blasted Mourinho after he attacked Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn for running on to the pitch to treat injured Eden Hazard.
Smalling and Shaw copped flak this time after not being available for United’s win over Swansea on Sunday.
But many United fans have also been mystified by the lack of faith Mourinho has shown in forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The £26.3million signing from Borussia Dortmund was hooked after 45 minutes of his only start, in the derby defeat to Manchester City in September.
He has only appeared since as a substitute in the Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce.
But Mkhitaryan said: “I went a long way to play with United, nothing will prevent me from achieving my dream.”