Sunday 1 April 2018 14:58, UK
Jose Mourinho should be embarrassed that Manchester United are so far behind rivals Manchester City this season, says Oliver Holt.
City's 3-1 win at Everton on Saturday maintained their 16-point lead over second-placed United in the table.
If Pep Guardiola's side beat United at the Etihad next Saturday, a match which is live on Sky Sports, they will win a third Premier League title.
However, while Mourinho's team have improved on last season's sixth-place finish in the league, the current gap between the two city rivals, added to the contrast in how they play, must make hard watching for United supporters, says the Mail on Sunday's chief sports writer.
"They finished sixth last season and so they have made an improvement this season," Holt told the Sunday Supplement.
"But it depends how much you value the style they play, but they have made an improvement.
It is an embarrassment for Jose Mourinho that he is so far behind Man City having spent so much money
"So to a degree, they are in transition, but it is a pretty expensive transition and some people would think United fans are entitled to expect a little bit more on their return in terms of the gap that there is between them and Man City.
"It has been an improvement, but I still think it is an embarrassment for Jose Mourinho that he is so far behind Man City having spent so much money.
"And I think the embarrassment of that has been the theme of the season for him and is behind some of the ridiculous and pathetic comments he has been coming out with about Man Utd's heritage as though they some minor league club of some sort.
"This idea that they are some sleepy, little backwater club is insulting to the fans. It suits Mourinho's agenda, which is this is a tiny little club he has come into and he is going to transform it into a Goliath of the game.
"Guardiola and Mourinho have spent millions each, and Guardiola has created a thing of beauty, most people accept that. Most neutrals love watching Man City.
"Mourinho has created something functional. I am not saying Man Utd are a bad side, but compared to Man City, they look functional - functional being 16 points behind their rivals."
However, Neil Custis disagrees, claiming in comparison to Guardiola at City, Mourinho had more of a rebuilding job to do when he took over from Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016.
"In recent years they have not been at the top table and that was the point he was making," said the Sun's Manchester correspondent.
"He knows what a powerhouse they are and have been, but what he is trying to say is, 'This is the position we are in at the moment.'
"He started at a very different level to Pep Guardiola, who started with the basis of the side that he inherited with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Vincent Kompany, when he plays.
"He had to unpick what Louis van Gaal had done with his philosophy and some of the bad players he bought."
