Jose Mourinho press conference LIVE: Manchester United manager previews derby vs Manchester City
Mourinho will face the media at United's Carrington training ground on Friday morning
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho will preview this weekend’s Manchester derby with the media at Manchester United’s training ground on Friday morning.
Mourinho is likely to be in good spirits after United’s brilliant comeback Champions League win at Juventus on Wednesday night, one of the best results of his Old Trafford reign so far. The optimism around United this week will soon disappear, though, if Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City run amok at the Etihad on Sunday.
City have been under the spotlight this week following allegations that the club deceived Uefa over Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Mourinho turned down the opportunity to speak about the Football Leaks revelations earlier this week, though may be tempted to revisit the story with a trip to City on the horizon. Follow live coverage of Mourinho’s press conference below...
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Why do United keep fighting back?
We can go to the other side, but why do we always concede before opposition? In a positive way it's easy to feel a team that does not give up, always find a way to fight back sometimes changing results, sometimes not, but we are a team that has that collective spirit to fight back but is not always lost.
"If we keep conceding goals before the opposition there will be a day where we cannot come back so we have to grow up in our approach, because it's clear the team is growing up, but we have to grow up in our compactness and start matches well. Against Juventus it happened, we concede the goal (in) minute 60 or something like that and we had a good start. In the first 15 or 20 mins we were totally in control.
Victory put United back into title race?
"If we draw (the gap) is nine, if we lose it is 12, I don't think this is the way to look at the match. We have to just think about the match, it's difficult enough by an isolated event, if you want to put that match into the context of where we are, where we can be.
"I want to play it as an isolated match, different match against different team but they think is a different match for them."
Does Pep Guardiola's Paul Pogba-stunt last season show you still get to him?
"Before that match I didn't even know about that. I didn't feel it, no."
And that's it from Mourinho, who evidently is in a rather good mood this week!
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