Mourinho questions the heart and desire of Manchester United players

After a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho has questioned his player’s heart and desire to play for Manchester United. Mourinho has admitted they need to improve if they are to make the top four of the Premier League this season. United now sit 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, with an uphill task to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

United put in yet another poor home performance in the goalless draw with Palace at Old Trafford despite keeping 66% possession throughout the game.  When asked in his press conference, Mourinho responded “There are games that are special games and not just ‘one more’, This was a special game, the first of eight Premier League games until the end of December, a game we need to win and it was not enough from the heart.”

Mourinho also described the draw as a ‘bad point’ in their quest for Champions League football, with the Red Devils seven points behind fourth placed Chelsea. However, Mourinho did not leave the opportunity to praise Palace’s performance against his side, describing the Eagles as ‘well organized’. “I give them credit. They were defensively very well organized. The goalkeeper made a couple of fantastic saves; they were always waiting for a little chance to be dangerous in counter-attack. They played their game and they played well.”

When asked about solutions, Mourinho responded, “The solution is that probably I have to make certain choices based on ‘heart’, and then probably I will blame myself because I will think that heart is not enough and I am missing here some quality. You can improve. You can influence players, especially when they are open to it, when a player realizes he has to give more and change his nature.”