Rui Faria: The departure of Manchester United’s good cop leaves bad cop Jose Mourinho running the precinct alone

Faria was seen as the one the players could talk to, most notably Luke Shaw, when Mourinho's words started to sting

To get a flavour of the kind of extreme loyalty Jose Mourinho is losing in Rui Faria, consider the story from a few years ago when a rival manager seemed to have a go at the Manchester United boss.

Mourinho is normally more than willing to return serve in such situations, but this time felt enough had been said. Faria, however, hadn’t. He was so enraged by one particular comment about his boss that he was ranting about how they should hit back, and even said he’d be willing to talk to the media about himself.

Mourinho managed to calm things, with roles suddenly a little reversed.

Because the angry image of Faria is not one that the Manchester United players usually see. The Old Trafford squad greatly like the 42-year-old, who is said to often play the “good cop” against Mourinho’s grumpier cop. That is said to often be necessary in the United dressing room, because of how the manager’s mood generally has people on edge around the club. Luke Shaw regularly turned to Faria, and it remains to be seen how any similar flashpoints might be handled next season. There is theoretically a greater possibility of breakdowns in relationships, although not definitely so.

This is still another quality Mourinho is losing.

Faria was important to managing the mood of his boss’s squads, and was key as a sounding board, even if Mourinho is obviously a brilliant tactical mind and motivator in his own right. There should be no concern about Mourinho’s general management in that regard. This was not a partnership quite in the sense of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, or even Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz.

As regards the latter, it has been said that Mourinho could do with alternative senior voices in the way Ferguson used to so often avail. One of the keys to one of the great Scot’s greatest abilities - his adaptability - was his willingness to employ different figures as No 2s. They just offered that different perspective, different expertise. Quieroz was crucial to the more constrained tactical style that saw Ferguson enjoy his greatest success in Europe between 2007 and 2011. He was also often described as a “co-manager”.

Mourinho has never been as open to influences from outside his circle as Ferguson, and his comments after the announcement of Faria’s departure suggest he is not going to go down that route.

“[There will be] no number two,” Mourinho said. “Moving forward, I will organise my coaching staff in a way where the assistant manager figure doesn’t exist.

“I’m going to have coaches, assistant coaches, fitness coaches and a structure where we have specialists in different areas, connected to the performance by analysts. I’m not going to have an assistant manager in the sense of the word.”

The merits of that approach remain to be seen, but then many top clubs have similar set-ups in practice if not necessarily in name. Many managers, meanwhile, actually have two lieutenants who serve as assistants. This might well be what happens at United, and there’s also the presence of Michael Carrick.

The retiring midfielder is already widely respected as a coach within the club as he merely makes the transition, and big things are expected. He is greatly admired by Ferguson, and appears to have more people pushing him on, say, than even Ryan Giggs had. He is also greatly liked by the players, so could well replace Faria in that regard.

As for Faria himself, this is a decision that had been eating away at him for a while. He has long wanted to be a manager in his own right and - as much as Mourinho may miss his most loyal assistant - his boss as long wanted him to test his abilities.

It could well prove different types of tests for both.