Jose Mourinho reveals frustrations with Manchester United players for losing focus and motivation

Jose Mourinho has admitted that he often finds himself “frustrated” with his Manchester United players for losing focus and motivation.

Mourinho criticised the attitude of his players after drawing with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford last Saturday, unfavourably comparing them with opponents who played as if it was “the World Cup final”.

Three days later, United suffered an EFL Cup penalty shoot-out defeat to Frank Lampard’s Derby County and Mourinho again bemoaned how his players lacked “belief” and failed to “kill the game”.

Ahead of this weekend’s trip to West Ham United, the United manager claimed the gap in quality between top clubs and the rest is shrinking, but then spoke at length on why he at times nevertheless feels disappointed in his players.

“I sometimes feel frustrated because the work we do and what we give to the process, I’m always expecting more. Especially I’m expecting more in terms of stability in the process,” he began.

“It looks like when we feel we are really improving and playing better and having a good run of results, it looks like there is always a little ‘going down’ in terms of the focus or the motivation – that I feel.”

“That’s why when I come to you [for a pre-match press conference], you never see me speaking like I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow – I expect to win tomorrow. I expect to play very well tomorrow.

“I don’t come here and say the training session was not very good and the players not committed and I have a bad feeling, I have the feeling that tomorrow we are not going to play very well. That we are not going to win.”

Mourinho added: “That’s why, after matches, sometimes I have the feeling that I’m frustrated or surprised by a lack of concentration or apparent – I repeat, apparent – lack of commitment and lack of attitude.

“If I put myself in the position of a journalist or a position of somebody that is in the stands, maybe people think that sometimes the boys are not committed, maybe people can think the manager doesn’t demand enough from them, maybe people think on the training ground we don’t train enough this area or that area. That’s quite frustrating.”

Despite two disappointing results at Old Trafford and the furore over his relationship with Paul Pogba this past week, Mourinho is optimistic ahead of the trip to the London Stadium and expects three points.

“I repeat tomorrow I think we are going to play very well,” he said.

“I think we are going to win a very difficult match against a very good opponent, an opponent with great investment, an opponent with a champion manager with lots of experienced players, lots of very talented players. Very difficult but I am very positive.”