{"id":302440,"date":"2017-03-17T05:25:37","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T05:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=302440"},"modified":"2017-03-17T05:25:37","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T05:25:37","slug":"man-united-are-not-ready-to-dominate-premier-league-mourinho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/03\/man-united-are-not-ready-to-dominate-premier-league-mourinho\/","title":{"rendered":"Man United are not ready to dominate Premier League – Mourinho"},"content":{"rendered":"
Manchester United “are not ready to be a dominant force” and fans should forget about a return to the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, manager Jose Mourinho has told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
United won 13 Premier League titles under Ferguson, but Mourinho says it is now impossible to be so dominant.<\/p>\n
Asked if he could return the club to its former greatness, the Portuguese said: “Forget it.<\/p>\n
“Don’t try to go 10, 20 years ago because it is not possible any more.”<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Lineker for the Premier League Show,\u00a0Mourinho also said:<\/p>\n
Mourinho, 54, signed a three-year contract last May to replace Louis van Gaal, who was sacked despite winning the FA Cup.<\/p>\n
The Red Devils have finished seventh, fourth and fifth in the three full seasons since Ferguson’s retirement, and have been in sixth place since 6 November.<\/p>\n
Mourinho does not believe a return to winning the Premier League every year is close, but does not want the season to peter out after winning the EFL Cup last month.<\/p>\n
“We are not ready to be Manchester United,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We are not ready to be a dominant force. We are not ready to try and win everything.<\/p>\n
“Because of the nature of the club, and of myself, we are ready to fight for every game, every point. But there is a space between the general ambition of such a giant club and what we are in reality.”<\/p>\n
Mourinho said United – who beat Premier League champions Leicester City in the Community Shield in August – had won “one and a half” trophies this season.<\/p>\n
“Many other teams in England are going to finish the season without a trophy,” he said. “But we have to fight for the top four, we have to fight for the Champions League. The cup is not enough to say that the season is over.”<\/p>\n