Manchester United progress under Jose Mourinho undone by City and Paul Pogba says Ron Atkinson

Matt Jones - Editor 12:06 03/03/2018
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  • Ron Atkinson admits Jose Mourinho’s pragmatic football is not what Manchester United fans are used to, but claims there is no substitute for the success the Portuguese has already delivered to Old Trafford.

    Despite delivering the Europa League – the only major title missing from United’s trophy cabinet – last season, in addition to the EFL Cup, fans and commentators have been critical of Mourinho’s defensive style of play which is not in keeping with the traditional swashbuckling displays associated with former United sides.

    United are performing admirably under the former Chelsea manager this season, but Atkinson admits their progress has been overshadowed by the breathtaking football being played by runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.

    “Jose is a results manager,” former United boss Atkinson told Sport360 after steering England Legends to a 7-4 victory over Scotland Legends at the JA Centre of Excellence in Jebel Ali on Friday.

    “Sometimes he will sacrifice a little bit of style for a pragmatic result. I do all United’s big games for television and that would be the thing leveled against him.

    “The quality and style of play doesn’t come up to their expectations, particularly with how City are playing, Liverpool and Tottenham are playing. But he won two trophies last season and I think he’ll get one this year.”

    Atkinson has been impressed with the United boss’ handling of star midfielder Paul Pogba.

    The Frenchman was bought back to the club for a then world-record £89m from Juventus in the summer of 2016 but has endured his struggles and attracted critics as United have also found it difficult to cope with the City juggernaut under Pep Guardiola.

    Pogba 1

    Pogba was dropped for the recent league clash with Huddersfield and substituted in defeats to Tottenham and Newcastle.

    And while the 24-year-old was the most expensive player in the world when he returned to Old Trafford, Atkinson feels he hasn’t yet proven himself to be one of the best at United.

    “I’m not sure he is a top player yet, in the bracket of (Bryan) Robson, (Roy) Keane or (Paul) Scholes. He’s short of that. He’s got to live up to it even though the price tag already suggests he is still a top player,” added Atkinson.

    “You can’t win arguments through your agent. If you’ve got an axe to grind, the place to prove it is on the pitch.”

    Many have suggested there is a rift between player and manager and that Pogba could be on his way out of Manchester for a second time in the summer, but Atkinson believes these rumours are far-fetched.

    “Unless you’re in the camp and know what’s going on you can’t really hazard a guess. There’s different ways of handling top players,” said Atkinson.

    “I don’t think (the Pogba situation is comparable to any relationship I had with a player) because players back then had different mentalities.

    “You could sting a good players’ pride, you could challenge it. And I’ve always found the best players respond because that’s part of their being. They want to be the best and they want to prove it.

    “Has Pogba got that in him? I don’t know. He’s a very good player.

    “But I don’t know how much he’s influenced by outside influences.”

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