Just when things had started to calm down in regards to Manchester United, it appears manager Jose Mourinho and midfielder Paul Pogba are re-igniting dysfunction junction. Mourinho slammed the team’s attitude and hunger in their 1-1 draw at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Pogba echoed that sentiment, while also hitting out at the tactics being employed.
“It’s true that maybe we should have showed more hunger in some parts,” said Pogba.
“Maybe the attitude should be better and we should play better because, again, we are at Old Trafford and we should just attack and press like we did against Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal last season,” he said.
“When we play like this it’s easier for us.”
Pogba believes the team should move away from the more defensive-minded, conservative style of play, and instead get more aggressive and up-field, especially when they have the home pitch advantage. He said as much after the stalemate with Wolves.
“When we are at home we should attack, attack, attack. That’s Old Trafford,” Pogba continued.
“We are at home and we should play much better against Wolves. We are here to attack. I think teams are scared when they see Manchester United attacking and attacking. That was our mistake.”
United have been routinely ripped in the football world for often employing a boring brand of ball, both under the current and previous managerial regime. Mourinho’s predecessor, Louis van Gaal, was consistently criticized, and harshly, for playing far too pragmatic.
Pogba went on to suggest that his side should be playing more creatively, with more flair and style, but he also stopped short of saying what he might have really wanted to say, realizing it was not his place to speak out on such matters.
“Obviously we should show more options of playing but I cannot say that because I’m a player,” Pogba said. “That’s my way of thinking: we should move better, we should move more.”
Given all that’s been made in the media of the Pogba-Mourinho row, and all that has been said by Mourinho to deny that is exists, it’s probably for the best that Pogba simply left it there.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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