United have two of their three Premier League games this season
Saturday 1 September 2018 07:42, UK
Jose Mourinho is "feeling the heat" from Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and is showing signs of "insecurity" in the way he is dealing with the media, Steve McMahon said on The Debate.
Manchester United have lost two of their opening three games of the Premier League season, including a 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham on Monday.
But Mourinho was defiant in his press conference on Friday, saying he remains "one of the greatest managers in the world".
However, former Manchester City and Liverpool midfielder McMahon disagreed: "Presently, no. Absolutely not.
"He was magnificent when he first came into the Premier League and he was successful, but all of a sudden it's become about him.
"Every conversation in the last 10 days has been 'me, me, me' and that's the first sign of insecurity and the pressure that he has from the new type of managers like Klopp and Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino. He can't stand the heat.
"He is clearly not the best manager right now. Guardiola is, then it's Klopp. Could Klopp manage Manchester United right now? 100 per cent. Could Mourinho manage Liverpool? Not in a million years."
Monday's loss to Tottenham was Mourinho's worst home defeat as a manager, and he will be looking for a response at Burnley on Sunday.
Former England and West Ham defender Matthew Upson agreed with McMahon that Mourinho is finding it hard going at the moment.
"It's driven by insecurity at the moment. Everyone has those moments where you are being doubted in a very intense way and you can only react by talking about how good you have been," Upson said.
"At the moment they are not particularly good. His first year at Manchester United was excellent, he did a great job to stabilise the club with the group of players he had and win the Europa League.
"That was a great start to his managerial career but from that point it hasn't been good enough to put himself in the bracket of the greatest managers in the world at the moment."
McMahon also thinks someone at Manchester United should have advised Mourinho to change his approach with the media.
"You have to give him kudos for winning the trophies he has done but I don't think there's any need for him to come out and give himself a pat on the back. Top managers don't do that, they leave it to other people to gauge how successful you are or you're not," McMahon said.
"Someone should have reined him in. It's Manchester United, say 'excuse me, this is not about you, can you talk about the game or Manchester United and how you can make it better'.
"Also, he is beating the drum about how he is delighted with his players for their passion and commitment. Isn't that a pre-requisite for any team? Let alone a team like Manchester United."
