ManU is trying to mend the relationship between José Mourinho and the club's board.GETTY IMAGES
José Mourinho is "battling growing disillusionment" in the ManU dressing room about his methods at a time when the club's hierarchy is "making moves to help smooth the disconnect between the manager and board with the appointment of a technical director," according to James Ducker of the London TELEGRAPH. Mourinho's relationships with the likes of Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, "both of whom would leave Old Trafford if there was an exit route," have been "severely strained for some time," but there are others in the dressing room who have "since tired of Mourinho's approach on and off the field." Mourinho still has players in the squad who are "willing to pull for him" but Pogba's criticism of the team's "attitude" in the wake of Sunday's 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion is "understood to hint at a deeper malaise that has taken hold amid fears the problem could worsen unless there is a drastic improvement in mood and morale" (TELEGRAPH, 8/20).
RAIOLA RESPONDS: The London INDEPENDENT reported Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, "launched an extraordinary attack" on Paul Scholes after the former ManU player's "fierce criticism" of Pogba following the defeat at Brighton. Pogba's display, where he lost the ball 27 times, "drew heavy criticism." Scholes said while working as a TV pundit, "There's a lack of leaders in the team. We thought Paul Pogba might be the ideal candidate to be that leader but he wasn't there today." But Raiola, who brokered Pogba's then-world-record move to Old Trafford in '16, "vehemently disagrees" (INDEPENDENT, 8/21).
