Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera insists bad reviews won't affect Jose Mourinho
* Manchester United have won just one game in their last four league games
* United are five points behind leaders Manchester City after seven games
* Ander Herrera insists that manager Jose Mourinho will remain a winner
* Herrera says it's normal to attract bad reviews when you are a good coach
Jose Mourinho won’t let criticism of Manchester United’s recent form get to him or his players, insists midfielder Ander Herrera.
United’s promising start to the season has stalled after Mourinho’s side picked up just one win in their last four Premier League games, losing to Manchester City and Watford before Stoke snatched a late equaliser at Old Trafford last weekend.
It led to the new United boss referring to himself sarcastically as ‘the worst manager in the history of football’, but Herrera believes the competitive nature of the Premier League means that all the top teams will drop points at some stage.
Ander Herrera says it is normal to attract bad reviews when you are one of the best coaches
‘Mourinho is a winner and will remain a winner,’ said the Spanish midfielder. ‘I don’t think that the bad reviews will affect him at this point.
‘When you are one of the best coaches in the world, it is normal to attract bad reviews if you lose a couple of games. It is inevitable, because that is how it works. But he has made things very clear. I enjoy training and I think Mourinho is one of the best coaches I have ever had in daily work.
‘It is also true that in the Premier League every team loses points. In Spain it is also beginning to happen now, but in England it is nothing new. Manchester City will lose games, so will we, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham also. This is the Premier League.’
United’s faltering form has also placed the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic under close scrutiny.
But Herrera added: ‘It is the same case as with Mourinho. Everybody is always looking at the best in the world with a magnifying glass and they are criticised more than others.
‘Ibra is giving us a lot. He is a phenomenon. This week he turned 35 and for me his is still among the best two or three strikers in the world without any doubt.
‘As for Rooney, he is our captain and we trust him. He is a player who makes the difference, but the coaches decide the team. Now Juan Mata is playing in his position but, let’s face it, this is football.’
Herrera has earned a regular place playing as a defensive foil to Pogba and been rewarded with his first call-up for Spain at the age of 27 for the World Cup qualifiers away to Italy and Albania.
‘Paul is a very strong, very physical player who shoots with both feet, he can dribble, he can defend – he has it all,’ said the former Athletic Bilbao midfielder. ‘I can then stay back to steal the ball, to keep the position, and from there initiate attacks. I’m fine and I’ll try to provide everything that the manager asks of me.
‘With Mourinho I have also played in attacking positions in the EFL Cup and even scored a goal (against Northampton). I am a team player and I will do whatever he asks of me, but I’m very happy ahead of the defensive line.
‘Now I think I have some consistency. I know I have to keep working to earn Mourinho’s confidence even more, but it is true that I feel good in the new position and it’s also true that maybe that little change of position was what has allowed me to receive a Spain call-up.’
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