Jose Mourinho reveals who he blames for Manchester United’s defeat to West Ham

Jose Mourinho believes ‘everybody’ at Manchester United has had a role to play in their dismal start to the campaign.

United’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham means the side have only managed four wins from nine matches in all competitions this term and Mourinho is under intense pressure, with Zinedine Zidane reportedly in talks over replacing the Portuguese. While reports claim United’s squad were openly discussing Mourinho’s future on the journey back to Manchester, Luke Shaw insisted that it was the players who were to blame at the London Stadium.

‘We have to look at ourselves as players. We’re the ones who go on the pitch. The manager isn’t on the pitch is he?’ the left-back said.

‘He’s there to put a team out and put a team out that he thinks can win the game. You look at our team today and we had a very strong team. No excuses. As players we weren’t good enough.’

Despite Shaw’s strong defence of his manager, though, Mourinho believes everyone at the club – including himself – are culpable. ‘It’s a collective thing, the reason why we don’t win is the responsibility of everybody, the performance on the pitch in my opinion is the consequence of many factors,’ Mourinho said ahead of United’s Champions League clash with Valencia. ‘Luke Shaw for example told something I agree but I don’t agree totally because I am part of it.

‘He said that we players are on the pitch we have to perform, we have to give more, I like that perspective but I don’t agree totally. ‘It’s all of us, everybody in the club has a role to play, the kit man, the nutritionist, I have, everyone has a role to play and when we lose the responsibility is the responsibility of everyone.’

Amid a growing tension with Paul Pogba, Mourinho claimed that ‘some care more than others’ about United’s troubles.

‘What I can do to improve things I will do and I will improve the things that depend on me and my work,’ he said.

Asked about players’ reactions to the defeat at West Ham, Mourinho replied: ‘Sometimes what it looks like is exactly the opposite. ‘You can be laughing and be saddest person in world and you can be fantastic actor and inside you can be happy. Sometimes what you see is not what you get. ‘I think that some care more than others.’