José 'dismayed' at Manchester United's culture

13 November 2016 - 02:00 By BBC and The Daily Telegraph

Jose Mourinho has told his entire Manchester United squad to prove they are tough enough for the fight, as he investigates all aspects of first-team affairs after dismay at the culture he has inherited at the club. On Sunday, Mourinho criticised defenders Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw for declaring themselves unavailable for the Swansea City game because they were not at 100%.In the Daily MirrorJohn Cross wrote that Mourinho has since extended that message to his whole squad, telling them he can have no time for those not fully committed.story_article_left1"Smalling doesn't feel that he can play 100% with his pain," Mourinho said. "Luke Shaw told me this morning he was not in the condition to play so we had to build a defensive line."While United's players were reported to have backed their manager over his stance, it seems that all have been warned that they must run the hard yards to be successful. There's surely a difference between that and playing when injured?In addition, head of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, has also steamed in on the debate, criticising Mourinho for his treatment of his players."I was disappointed with that because, knowing the individuals, they are both highly thought of," said Taylor. "They have personal problems which I don't need to relate, but sometimes a manager needs to be a psychologist as well."Also, we're all human beings. That's why, with management these days, I'm not talking about being soft, I'm talking about being understanding. Very few make it in the game and those that do have got a real resolve and a resilience."So to suggest that any player is being not as tough as he could be, those days are gone - when we had no substitutes and were on with a broken leg and you still carried on. Surely we've come beyond that."Mourinho is also reportedly unhappy with United's medical department and wants the club to undertake a review because of the number of injuries to his squad.The United boss has not singled out any individuals in the medical team, which is headed by the vastly experienced doctor, Steve McNally, but is hugely frustrated at having lost players to injury for a combined total of 33 Premier League match days this season and is seeking improvements.story_article_right2In addition, having succeeded Louis van Gaal in the summer, it is understood Mourinho has found the general culture at United falling short of his expectations.Mourinho has won 23 trophies in spells at FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.It is understood that Mourinho, 53, is looking at every area in his remit, including travel, pre-season tour planning, fitness, sports science and the general make-up of his squad.At the start of the season, the former Chelsea manager predicted United would compete for the Premier League title this season.However, Sunday's victory over second-from-bottom Swansea was only their second win in their past eight Premier League matches. They are in sixth place - eight points off leaders Liverpool.In addition, the team's 2-1 defeat at Fenerbahce left them outside the qualification places in their Europa League group.Mourinho brought his own fitness specialist, Carlos Lalin, into United's medical department as part of his team when he succeeded Van Gaal...

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