Mourinho explains what his first priority was at United

Matt Stead

Jose Mourinho says restoring “harmony” between Manchester United fans and the team was his first priority as manager.

Mourinho was appointed boss in the summer, replacing Louis van Gaal after the Dutchman claimed the FA Cup in his final game.

Van Gaal was never a universally popular manager, and his defensive style would grate on supporters who demanded a more expansive approach.

His successor says that restoring that way of playing helped build bridges between the side and its supporters.

“All the stages of the process are important. The first was to put the fans in harmony with the team, which was not the case in the last two years,” Mourinho told France Football.

“They were not happy with the way in which the team was playing, the approach, the style of play, and they would leave the stadium ten minutes before the end. They needed to come back in our direction. It was difficult, because we had to coincide the team’s style with results.

“Even when we had our four match run of draws at home, that was the case. Against Burnley, we beat the record for the amount of shots in a Premier League match (37). That means that we were restoring the attacking style of Manchester United. What the fans wanted to have.

“However, that was not necessarily what people were expecting from me, because people say that my teams are more pragmatic, realistic…

“At the moment, I see a lot of defensive teams, but who win matches without being boring. But that is not the problem. What I am trying to say is when I arrived at Manchester United, I knew that I needed to go in certain direction, and that is what I did.

“To be attacking, to be dominant, to have the ball, chances, to not be fearful of conceding goals, to bring intensity, not to play with five defenders, or two attacking midfielders… to at least try to play positively.”