Dubai: Jose Mourinho needs to assert more discipline in the Manchester United dressing room if he is to succeed at Old Trafford, according to former Red Devils striker Teddy Sheringham.
United are sixth in the Premier League with 18 points from the first 11 games of the season from five wins and three draws. However, their attitude in defeat has raised eyebrows.
Following a 4-0 hammering away to Chelsea the players were seen laughing and exchanging shirts, while injured Eric Bailly was also spotted filming Mourinho when the coach was sent to the stands during a goalless draw at home to Burnley.
“It’s silly things like that, that need controlling,” Sheringham, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the Sixteen10 Mike Clark Charity Golf Day at the Address Montgomerie in Dubai. “He needs to ground his players but when they are multi-millionaires it’s very hard to keep them in line.
“You only have to look at how Sir Alex Ferguson used to manage his players, he tried to bring them up as good and proper men, it wasn’t just about being good footballers it was about conducting yourself in the right way.
“Years ago you understood you shouldn’t be seen laughing and joking when you lose. If fans see you laughing afterwards, it breeds ill-feeling,” added the 50-year-old who scored 31 goals in 104 appearances for United from 1997 to 2001 and was part of the 1999 treble-winning side under Ferguson.
“Sir Alex was lucky, he was there 27 years but when you first come into a club you have to work out people’s character; managing a football club can be very difficult, that’s why you have to give people time.
“When you’ve had a manager for 27 years and he had such control over the players and everything that happened in Manchester, it’s a big feat to follow, but if anyone can do it, it’s Mourinho.”
Of targets from Mourinho’s first season, Sheringham said: “It’s always to win something at Man United. You can’t come second and say you’ve done okay. That would be a step forward from where we’ve been recently but Mourinho is a winner and both he and the club expect to win, so somehow he’ll find a way to get them over the line.”
Sheringham said another of his former clubs, Tottenham Hotspur — with whom he scored 98 goals in 236 appearances over two spells from 1992 to 1997 and 2001 to 2003 — would need to be more consistent if they are going to challenge for the title. The unbeaten North Londoners are fifth on 21 points from the first 11 games of the season after five wins and six draws, but points shared away to the likes of Bournemouth have overshadowed impressive victories.
“They should have beaten Liverpool but then beat Manchester City at home when everyone was drooling over City,” he said. “Tottenham got in amongst them and didn’t give them a chance. If they can get that consistency, they should be okay.
“I would say they are outsiders for the title, they’ve never won it but got close last year [finished third] and are moving in the right direction.
“It will be tough because expectancy levels go up again; after doing so well last year, the fans expect more and the teams playing against you raise their game, so it’s doubly hard.
“To improve as a club, you have to do it steadily and I feel Tottenham are doing that. If they can get back in the top four and are in the Champions League again, and progress as far as they can, I think everyone at the club will be very pleased.”
