Jose Mourinho accused his critics of staging a “manhunt” to get him sacked after Manchester United rescued their under-fire manager with a dramatic 3-2 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Just hours after a report emerged that Mourinho would be sacked regardless of United’s result against Newcastle, his team were rocked at Old Trafford as they conceded two goals in the opening 10 minutes.
But after being booed off at half-time, United avoided going five games without a win thanks to a thrilling second-half fightback.
Juan Mata’s free-kick was followed by Anthony Martial’s equaliser, setting the stage for a 90th-minute winner from Alexis Sanchez, who had been dropped by Mourinho before coming off the bench in the second half.
Whether Mourinho keeps his job remains to be seen, but the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss came out fighting following weeks of criticism of his handling of United’s squad, sparked by his fall-out with star midfielder Paul Pogba and other key players.
“As a friend of mine was saying to me this morning, if it rains in London tomorrow, it’s my fault. Brexit, it’s my fault. I have to be ready for this. There is a lot of wickedness and a clear manhunt,” Mourinho said.
“In the end, we won the match and I think we deserved to win. I think the fans deserved to win. At 2-0 at half-time, with all the dynamic of the man-hunting, I think they behaved amazingly well for the team. This is what a football club is.
“The industry I work in is different, a lot of wickedness, too much wickedness in something that should be beautiful.
“For me, it’s not easy but I think life is made of experiences and some are new and some are deja vu. This is new but I think it makes me a better manager and a better person because I understand things in human nature.”
AFP