In one respect, of course, José Mourinho is right. Modern football is for ever trying to read too much into too little. One bad week – three poor results – is nothing compared to his previous career. Manchester United supporters, perhaps, will welcome his belligerence in attacking the “football Einsteins” who have “tried to delete 16 years of my career”. After a start to the season in which he has at times seemed slightly cowed, Mourinho has shown that there is fight left in him.
Others will wonder, though, whether an edgy 3-1 victory in the EFL Cup against a third-tier side is really the platform on which to be mounting such a ferocious defence of his position. What does that say about how hurt he has been by the criticism of the past week? What does it say about the self‑confidence that was once his trademark and one of his key attributes?
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