David Moyes is refusing to be drawn into Mourinho’s infamous mind-games…
New Manchester United manager David Moyes has refused to get sucked into mind-games with Chelsea’s returning boss Jose Mourinho, reports The Independent.
Mourinho is famous for his ability to rile other managers, and Moyes is clearly being careful to avoid any kind of confrontation so early in his tenure as United boss.
“Jose Mourinho is a tremendous manager,” said the 50-year-old Scot. .
“He has done really well in the Premier League. Like me, he started doing his coaching badges in Scotland and whilst I wouldn’t say I know him that well, I do know him.”
Moyes’ comments are extremely respectful of his Portuguese counterpart, perhaps because Mourinho’s trophy record is so vastly superior.
“I remember when he lost his job (in 2008) I wrote him a letter,” Moyes continued.
“So, for people to say there is any feud is wrong.
“Of course, you are going to find two really competitive managers. When our teams play we will both be highly committed to make sure our clubs win. But I admire him for how well he has done as a manager.”
Mourinho has already stated his admiration for United star Wayne Rooney this summer, and the club have had a bid for the England forward rejected – so perhaps the charismatic Portuguese is less inclined to play so nicely.
In his first stint as Chelsea boss Mourinho famously had an extremely frosty relationship with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, but was always respectful of ex-United supremo Sir Alex Ferguson.
The charismatic Portuguese recently stated his respect for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, too, and this tenure we could see a more relaxed, less hostile Mourinho. He has however, picked an early battle with Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini, claiming that City’s new signings should walk into the team and perform straight away.
As the season draws closer, we can wait in anticipation to see who Mourinho decides to challenge in the media mind-game battle.
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