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Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is failing to impress with Fenerbahce, according to former Turkyie international Volkan Demirel.
The Portuguese coach won the Carabao Cup and Europa League during his time at Old Trafford after joining in 2016 but was sacked in 2018 after losing 3-1 to Liverpool.
Mourinho went on to have roles at Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma before accepting the job as head coach of the Turkish giants last summer.
United fans will be paying extra attention to the Europa League match against Fenerbahce this Thursday, not just because their side are desperate for their first win in this year’s competition, but also because there will be a rematch with Mourinho.
Erik ten Hag has publicly spoken on his admiration for the former Chelsea manager and on how excited he is to face such a legendary coach who has won so much.
It has been reported that Ten Hag could be in trouble if he loses against Fenerbahce but according to Fanatik in Turkyie, the Dutchman is not the only manager facing the pressure.
Fenerbahce legend Volkan Demirel told the outlet that “right now, this Fenerbahce team is mixed with unhappiness and hopelessness.”
The source of this negativity is due to feeling let down by their superstar coach and a sense he is failing to deliver what was promised.
“Why the unhappiness? Because of the environment they are in. Why the hopelessness? We were all expecting something. We were expecting it from Mourinho, we were expecting it from the transfers that were made.”
“We were saying let’s see after the international break, but nothing has changed at the moment, but it will obviously continue like this. We waited to see if we could see a change, a variability, but it didn’t happen.”
A familiar criticism of Mourinho has resurfaced in that some feel he is overtly negative and this is inviting pressure for other teams to capitalise on.
One such example would be the latest 2-2 draw with Samsunspor, who equalised in the 88th minute, leaving the Turkish giants in fourth and already eight points behind leaders Galatasaray.
Of course, a win over his former side would be a famous achievement and lift the whole club, but with the league title already seemingly out of sight, it will continue to be tough for Mourinho to convince the Turkish media he is the right man to lead the Sarı Kanaryalar.
Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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