José Mourinho is safe from the sack for the immediate future, with it being business as usual for the Manchester United manager, despite the insipid 3-1 defeat by Liverpool.
Mourinho is coming under increasing pressure, because of United’s poor season, yet he is to remain in place. The result at Anfield on Sunday left United 19 points behind Liverpool, the leaders, and 11 behind Chelsea in the final Champions League berth.
Mourinho’s side are sixth with a goal difference of zero and have lost five and won seven of their 17 league matches – the club’s poorest start to a season since 1990.
As United have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup Mourinho has a clear week to prepare for Saturday’s trip to Cardiff. The rest of their games during the festive period are the visits of Huddersfield and Bournemouth to Old Trafford before the trip to Newcastle on 2 January.
United have triggered the one-year extension in Anthony Martial’s contract, ensuring the forward is at Old Trafford until summer 2020. As with David de Gea, the club are intent on tying Martial, the side’s top scorer with eight goals, to a fresh long-term deal. However Martial’s representative suggested the club and player are still far apart regarding a fresh deal. “I am very pessimistic about discussions going positively,” Phillipe Lamboley told RMC. “They’ve already sent us several offers that do not meet our expectations, starting on bases very far from our wishes. We are far from agreement for the time being.”
Mourinho has had the Football Association’s appeal against a not guilty verdict that he used insulting/improper and/or abusive language following the win over Newcastle in October dismissed.
It is understood that the FA’s appeal was upheld by an independent appeal board but that the case was then moved to a different commission because of a legal argument raised by the manager that he had “legitimate expectation”, based on precedent, that he would not be charged for swearing and that on this basis he was again cleared.