Jose Mourinho has reportedly delivered a not-so-subtle message to his fellow Premier League bosses who aren’t in favour of the plans to restart the season.
As things stand, the lockdown measures in the UK amid the coronavirus pandemic are set to be eased in the coming weeks and months, paving the way for sports to return.
The Premier League is being tipped to resume on either June 12 or June 19, with clubs set to welcome players back to training this month to prepare for the rescheduled games.
However, it has yet to get the official green light to go ahead as there are still key issues that need to be agreed upon before the relevant authorities back the return of the top flight, and it appears as though there is a split amongst managers too.
It had been reported by the Mirror that Mourinho led calls to delay ‘Project Restart’ due to concerns over the fitness of his players as he is said to have argued that it will take them a number of weeks to get fully fit and in a position to feature in games again.
Several Premier League bosses, including Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, are said to have backed his opinion on the matter.
As noted by the Sun now though, it’s suggested that Mourinho has hit out at his fellow PL bosses who are against the restart plans, telling them: ‘If you don’t want to play, stay home and watch Bundesliga’.
It’s added that the Portuguese tactician made it ‘crystal clear’ that he’s ready to return during the LMA meeting, and so it’s unclear where he stands on it as the conflicting reports provide very different attitudes.
If the government and Premier League approve of plans to resume in mid-June, it may well be out of the hands of others and they’ll have to be prepared for that to happen.