Jose Mourinho questioned his rival Premier League managers once again on Friday, accusing them of “playing a defensive game in words”, and insisted Manchester United are not afraid to say they are aiming for the title.
Mourinho implied his peers were playing down their team’s targets for fear of falling short, but said that is not the way he wants to do things at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese, who called Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp “unethical” last week for their comments about Paul Pogba’s world-record £89million move to United, said: “We cannot speak differently, we want to fight for the title.
“Many think the same way, but they are afraid to say it. They prefer to play a defensive games in words, but that’s not our way. I don’t think that’s Manchester United, Manchester United has to say we want to win the title while having respect for the others.
“Maybe we don’t win, maybe we arrive at the end of the season and we are happy to finish in the top four, it depends on how the season goes.
“If, at the end of the season, we are not champions because someone is better than us then that’s football, but at the moment, at Manchester United, we cannot speak differently, we are going to fight for the title.”
Asked what United fans can expect this season, Mourinho added: “Professionalism, that’s for sure.
“We are not here to have fun, we are not here to enjoy the sunny weather, we are here to work, to give everything for the club and we promise that. We are going to give everything to achieve our goals.”
United visit Bournemouth in their Premier League opener on Sunday and Mourinho is a fan of the south-coast club and their manager Eddie Howe.
“They are a good, stable team, for sure it will be a difficult match for us,” he said.
“[They have] stability, same players, same manager year after year, they didn’t change their style.”
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