Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly receiving the support of his senior players over the bust-up with Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw.
The duo were left out of Sunday’s win over Swansea City as they insisted that they were not fit to play, leading to Mourinho questioning their commitment to both him and the club, as noted by The Sun.
However, the report goes further and claims that the majority of the United squad have accepted that his “ruthless regime” is key to their success and are willing to do whatever it takes to adhere to his methods and get United back to the top of the tree.
It remains to be seen what Smalling and Shaw’s decisions over the weekend mean for the respective futures at United, with The Sun even added that they are now battling to save their United careers.
A show of commitment could arguably easily rectify that in the coming weeks, but for a coach who is evidently accustomed to his players putting their bodies on the line for him, it hasn’t gone down well.
Nevertheless, perhaps surprisingly to some, the squad seems to be on board with the manager and haven’t taken the public criticism of their teammates negatively as it appears as though they accept what is demanded of them or are just concerned about stepping out of line.
Either way, suggestions that Mourinho was losing the Old Trafford dressing room were bound to start flying around, as noted by Chris Sutton in his Daily Star column, but this suggests otherwise and that things aren’t reaching a breaking point between the manager and the squad as of yet.