Jose Mourinho slams ‘hopeless’ Fenerbahce ‘unhappy’ ahead of Man Utd clash

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has been criticized ahead of his side’s Europa League clash with Manchester United as he is “desperate and unhappy”.

Mourinho left Italian giants AS Roma at the start of 2024. He helped them win the Europa Conference League at the end of the 2021/22 campaign and guided them to the 2023 Europa League final, but left with them ninth in Serie A.

Old Chelsea, Manchester United and the Tottenham Hotspur manager was not out of work for long when he joined Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the summer.

Fenerbahce’s start to the 2024/25 campaign has been a bit of a mixed bag as they sit fourth in the Super League after eight games. They are eight points behind league leaders Galatasaray with a game in hand.

Mourinho’s side, however, have made a positive start to the Europa League. They have four points from their first two games and have the chance to get one over their former side on Thursday night when they host Man Utd.

The 61-year-old has a chance to put pressure on head coach Erik ten Hag, who remains the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season.

READ: Big midweek: Mourinho v Man Utd, Real Madrid v Dortmund, Arsenal, Klopp

Fenerbahce legend Volkan Demirel is demanding more from Mourinho, however. He believes that his team is currently “mixed with unhappiness and hopelessness”.

“Right now, this Fenerbahce team is mixed with unhappiness and hopelessness,” Demirel said.

“Why the unhappiness? Because of the environment they are in. Why the despair? We all expected something. We expected it from Mourinho, we expected it from the transfers that were made.

“We were saying we’ll see after the international break, but at the moment nothing has changed, but obviously it will continue like this.

“We waited to see if we would see a change, a variability, but it didn’t happen. We have not seen any changes in the game designs of the matches played at home and away. Or if you lead 2-1, will Fenerbahce play a seven defense? A big question mark.”

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Earlier this week, Ten Hag admitted he likes the game with Mourinho as he “always has good teams and is a winner”.

“It’s a great match for both of us,” said Ten Hag.

“I really enjoy facing him and playing against him. He always has good teams, he’s a winner (he’s won so many trophies), I think he’s an example for many, many coaches.”

He added: “It’s football, for now you have to live. (What happened) is in the past, you have to prove yourself every day, you have to prove yourself every season, so we have to go -there

“We’re at the start of the season and we’ll see where we end up, but our aim is to win a trophy again.”