{"id":1085227,"date":"2019-04-21T15:32:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T14:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1085227"},"modified":"2019-04-22T13:00:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T12:00:09","slug":"gary-neville-manchester-united-jose-mourinho","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/gary-neville-manchester-united-jose-mourinho\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Neville defends Jose Mourinho following Man Utd’s “blood-boiling” form"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester United’s recent form has proved that their early season problems weren’t completely down to former manager Jose Mourinho, according to Gary Neville.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Red Devils were convincingly defeated 4-0 by Everton on Sunday, which has put their top-four hopes in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Solskjaer inherits Mourinho’s problems? Five things you need to know…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  1. Manchester United struggled at the start of the campaign, losing two of their opening three Premier League fixtures.<\/li>\n
  2. Mourinho’s relationship with the club faltered and the former Chelsea boss was sacked in December following a 3-1 loss to Liverpool.<\/li>\n
  3. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over and led a United turnaround, with the club’s form and performances improving.<\/li>\n
  4. However, recent weeks have seen them exit the Champions League, FA Cup and drop out of the top-four.<\/li>\n
  5. Manchester United lost 4-0 to Everton on Sunday and are currently two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7234057-i-can-t-think-of-any-potential-arsenal-signings-that-make-more-sense<\/p>\n

    Former Manchester United right-back Neville couldn’t hide his disappointment and was visibly angry at how the players have conducted themselves in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

    Neville confessed that perhaps Mourinho’s tenure wasn’t spoiled purely through his own doing but rather because of the lack of effort from the United squad.<\/p>\n

    “I’m simmering to be honest with you, my blood is about to boil,” Neville said on Sky Sports (via Goal<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    “I didn’t buy into that these players were always fantastic so when they started winning for Ole for those two or three months – when you think about the game against Liverpool a\u00a0few weeks ago and everything was perfect.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hRKU-piMHX4<\/p>\n

    Subscribe to Squawka\u2019s Youtube channel here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    “Ole had got the players playing again, Jose Mourinho was a bump and basically it was just all down to Jose.<\/p>\n

    “Now we are seeing what Ole talked about on Friday is that there has been a reality check, and I think it’s a reality check for all of us.<\/p>\n

    “I went to Barcelona on Wednesday night and watched the game and I saw players pretending to run back. Making it look like they were running back but jogging.<\/p>\n

    “And I think what we are seeing now is where the players are. There is a lot of distraction around contracts and this is a big week.”<\/p>\n

    Poor afternoon for United<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    If Neville was angry with United before their match against Everton this afternoon, he must have been seething after Theo Walcott scored the Toffees’ fourth to condemn United to a 4-0 defeat.<\/p>\n

    The performance highlighted the lack of effort and commitment to the cause from several players in red, emphasising Neville’s pre-match comments.<\/p>\n

    The defeat leaves United in a difficult position in the Premier League table ahead of a crucial Manchester Derby in midweek.<\/p>\n