Jose Mourinho will be sacked by Christmas, predicts Lee Sharpe

Former United hero unimpressed by the manager.

Jose Mourinho finds himself under scrutiny at Manchester United

Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe expects Jose Mourinho to be sacked by Christmas. Adam Bate caught up with him to find out why he is so unimpressed with the manager – on and off the pitch.

Asked about what he expects to see at Manchester United this season and Lee Sharpe is typically forthright. "I am expecting the manager to get sacked before Christmas," he tells Sky Sports. "If he is going to continue with this dourness and this moaning, then people will turn around and say this attitude is not getting us to the top so we need to change it.

Brighton blitz dismantles United.
"It just seems same old same old. As much as the press and fans have been on Jose Mourinho's case about the negativity over the past few seasons and him moaning about players he has and has not got, he just seems to ignore everybody and carry on as usual. He looks fed up and it is reflecting in his team's performances. He is playing negative stuff.

"I just think the way he is going about his business, I don't think he is getting the best from the players. This team has some unbelievable attacking players but I don't think they are on the front foot enough, I don't think they are playing at a quick enough tempo and I don't think they move the ball enough. They give teams a chance to get back and get organised.

"He has so many options going forwards, it is a shame that he wants to play the way that he wants to play. It didn't work last year against a rampant Manchester City and if things aren't working you have to learn from your mistakes and change something. He needs to change but he just seems to be too stubborn to alter his approach."

Sharpe knows what it is like to play in a free-flowing Manchester United team. He was part of the famous side that did the Premier League and FA Cup double in both 1994 and 1996, but it is not just on the pitch he sees key differences between that United and this one. Off the pitch, he has been unimpressed by Mourinho's man-management skills.

"One of the things you respected about Sir Alex Ferguson is that he kept things in house," he says. "It was done in his office and the dressing room. Nothing ever went to the press in terms of issues he had with players. I think Mourinho could do with taking a leaf out of his book and using that. Nobody digs out their players in public. He is hanging them out to dry.

United desire questioned

"I think it's been psychologically proven that it doesn't work for anybody. It is an old-school football mentality and I think psychology-wise we will find that it just doesn't work. You don't send a pilot up in the air telling him he's rubbish at his job and that if he gets things wrong he's going to be in trouble, because he has got a lot of lives at risk.

"Likewise, you don't tell anyone in business or whatever trade they're in that they're rubbish. It's about making them happy and making them comfortable. They need to be aware that they can make mistakes, learn from them and improve. You need to be straight with people but I don't think you need to be knocking people and putting them down."