Jose Mourinho feels he did not receive the same kind of support Erik ten Hag currently has at Manchester United during his own spell at Old Trafford.
The self-proclaimed 'Special One' spent two-and-a-half years in the red half of Manchester and guided the Red Devils to a Carabao Cup and Europa League, but his tenure is still widely viewed as underwhelming. And yet, those who have come after him haven't been as successful as Mourinho, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick failing to lift any silverware at the helm.
Current boss Ten Hag won last season's Carabao Cup and has guided United to two successive FA Cup finals, but is under mounting pressure due to a string of dismal performances in the league. The 13-time Premier League winners are languishing as low as seventh in the table, 16 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.
In turn, many fans and pundits alike have predicted that Ten Hag could lose his job before the start of next season. If he was to be dismissed, his reign would be shorter than Mourinho's, but the ex-Chelsea and Inter Milan coach has claimed the Dutchman has more backing at Old Trafford than he ever had.
"My relationship with Ed Woodward was good," Mourinho told the The Telegraph. "Good as in the personal point of view. Even now we sent an SMS. But from a professional point of view it was not the best.
"I am who I am. I am a football man. Ed comes from a different background and what Ten Hag has in his time at Manchester United I didn’t have. I didn’t have that level of support. I didn’t have that level of trust.
"So I left sad, because I felt I was in the beginning of the process. In some moments, I felt if they trusted me and believed in my experience things could be different."
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Mourinho's assessment fair? Comment below
Mourinho's theory could be put to the test in the coming weeks as just how much backing Ten Hag really has at Old Trafford is revealed. In the eyes of some, he's already on the way out, with Jamie Carragher claiming Sunday's penalty shootout victory was so unconvincing he'll lose his job.
"I think that result has just cost Erik ten Hag his job," the Liverpool legend told Sky Sports.. "I don’t see how he stays, I really don’t. It’s just poor performance after poor performance. That dressing room is probably the most embarrassed dressing room from a team that has just won a big game.
"You can’t even celebrate that win. Maybe that can somehow win the final but I just don’t see any progress. This is somebody’s job we’re talking about but I just don’t see how they [the owners] can look at the situation and be positive about it. I don’t see it."
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