Craig Burley felt it was a different Jose Mourinho after their hugely disappointing defeat at West Ham.
Craig Burley says Jose Mourinho needs to stop answering questions about Paul Pogba and Manchester United’s captaincy and focus on needed results.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho speaks out about his relationship with Paul Pogba.
France head coach Didier Deschamps has defended Paul Pogba, insisting the Manchester United midfielder is completely different to his media image.
Pogba was told by Jose Mourinho this week that he would not captain Manchester United again, before the pair were filmed having a row in training.
He was then substituted in United’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday, with the player failing to acknowledge Mourinho as he left the pitch.
Deschamps said that Pogba cannot be expected to do everything on his own and needs to be part of a cohesive team unit to play his best football.
“There are a few things people ought to know,” he said, as quoted by The Observer. “First of all there is an image of Paul that doesn’t correspond to who he is. Maybe it is because he is a bit eccentric, a bit demonstrative.
“He has been with me since 2013 — that is five years now — and the way he functions is not about him for himself, it is him as part of the group. That is really important.
“His image in the media makes everything quite complicated. The amount of the transfer [fee] to Manchester United is ridiculous, it wasn’t easy to manage.
“During this World Cup he managed to get a normal image back. The fact he talks, it liberates him a bit, but the most important thing is that Paul came to this World Cup with a very precise idea: he wanted to prepare himself to be world champion. That is what he had in his mind.
“For Paul it depends not only on him but also the team he is in, the collective way of playing. It is not a case of one player who makes the team win.”
England reached the semifinals of the World Cup, and Deschamps said that the country’s extensive recent success at youth level could lead to “something amazing.”
“The Premier League has a specific characteristic because they have economic resources nobody else has,” Deschamps said. “A lot of foreigners come over to play. In France a young talent who is 17 plays in Ligue 1.
“I’ve seen that in England it is more complicated. It takes longer. So it takes longer to get to international standard. But it seems there are a young generation of players who have particular quality, winning international titles at youth levels. They have the potential to improve and do something amazing.”
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