“I need good players, I need good people. I need some people with maturity.”
Jose Mourinho has namechecked some of his most reliable players, and unsurprisingly Luke Shaw didn’t get a mention. The Manchester United manager has been able to depend on his entire squad to play well when called upon so far this season. Almost everyone, from Romelu Lukaku to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Phil Jones to Ashley Young, has stepped up to the plate and impressed during the club’s impressive start to the season.
In seven Premier League games, United have scored 21 and conceded just two, winning six games and scoring four times on four separate occasions. Their latest 4-0 victory came on Saturday at Old Trafford against goalless and pointless Crystal Palace. Following the game, Mourinho praised his team and spoke about the qualities he values in his players. He also namechecked some of his most reliable players.
“I need good players, I need good people,” Mourinho told reporters.
“I need some people with maturity, I need some people with the concept of team, I know that the new generations are more individual because this is the way the entourage and society makes them. So to have people like (Juan) Mata, (Ander) Herrera, (Antonio) Valencia, (Nemanja) Matic, to have people like them – and I am just giving a few examples, I could give more – is very important because managers, we don’t have an easy life now.”
Mourinho also praised Marouane Fellaini after his performance on Saturday. The Belgian midfielder continued his quest for Ballon d’Or glory with two goals against Palace, and the United manager said his decision to give him opportunities to play this season has just been “common sense.”
“All managers are different. Sometimes we like players others don’t,” Mourinho said
“Sometimes we don’t like players others like. Some players perform better with some of us than with others, and I have examples of players that didn’t perform well for me and then performed well for other managers. Â It is just the fact that I think Marouane has important qualities and I try to use them depending on the situation and the team needs. He is a team player, a great character and we have a good relationship.”
United’s next game after the international break is a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool.
