Jose Mourinho on Sky Sports: Louis van Gaal is like a player - he needs 'time to adapt' at Manchester United
The Dutchman has struggled to turn the Red Devils around since arriving in the summer
Jose Mourinho has backed Louis van Gaal to push for titles at Manchester United but says the Dutchman needs time to adapt.
The Chelsea manager was speaking to Sky Sports during an eventful appearance on Goals on Sunday. The Portuguese accused Sky of impartiality and labelled Ashley Barnes' challenge on Nemanja Matic during yesterday's 1-1 draw with Burnley as "criminal".
Mourinho also managed to questioned why Arsenal are not challenging for the title this season, but when it came to Manchester United he had more sympathy. The Special One says Louis van Gaal, with whom he worked with at Barcelona, needs time to adapt to the Premier League.
"He is a fantastic coach and it's easy for me to say as I know him so well and he is a fantastic person. But he has been in so many years of his career before he came to England. In the same way a player needs time to adapt to understand things to perform at the highest level it is the same for Louis."
Mourinho continued: "He will have time to make Manchester United win titles again. This season they still have a chance to do that with the FA Cup and they also have the opportunity to finish in the top four and go back to the Champions League, which is the minimum for a team like them."
Manchester United lost ground in the battle for the top four yesterday when they were beaten 2-1 by Swansea. Arsenal moved above them into third and with just 12 games of the campaign remaining there are no guarantees of a return to the Champions League for the Red Devils. But going forward, Mourinho expects to see the good times return to Old Trafford.
"When you see the titles he has won and his experience, I don't see any reason why they can't be pushing for titles."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments