Jose Mourinho's Manchester United sacking bad for football, says Marco Silva
Saturday 22 December 2018 07:48, UK
Everton boss Marco Silva says the sacking of Jose Mourinho is "bad for football" and he believes his fellow countryman will return "even stronger".
Mourinho lost his job at Manchester United on Tuesday after two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford and was replaced by caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Silva was saddened to hear of Mourinho's departure but said his friend "is a winner" who will win trophies again.
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"I think football needs the best managers," said Silva. "Jose is one of the best managers in the world.
"For me it is really bad news. He is a friend. Always when you see a manager leave a club it is bad news and when he is a friend and a coach like Jose it is always bad news for football.
"I am sure Jose will come back even stronger than he was at Manchester United and be ready to win again.
"He is a winner. He won in other countries and he will win again for sure and will come stronger for the next project.
"I would say the same if one of the best players was injured for four or five months. It was the same when [Kevin] De Bruyne was out. Football needs De Bruyne. When De Bruyne is out it is bad for football."
Silva will be in the opposite dug-out on Sunday to Mauricio Pochettino, one of the favourites to replace Mourinho on a permanent basis, when Everton face Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League.
The Everton manager admires what Pochettino is achieving at Spurs and does not think he will be distracted by the speculation linking him to Old Trafford.
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"No way. No chance," said Silva. "When you are in football, the manager and coaches, every day you have only one thing on your mind - getting the squad prepared and the matches. Do not have any doubts about that.
"I see he is smiling every day when asked about the situation. What Pochettino is doing is fantastic. I hope he does not have a good day on Sunday."
Silva was asked if Everton hope to replicate Tottenham who have broken into the top four and are about to move into a new stadium.
"We don't want to copy anyone," he added. "We have our way and we will build our own way taking the right decisions and making the right moves.
"It will be Everton's way. What Tottenham are doing is clear, I saw that before I went to Everton.
"For the last four or five years they have been doing the right things. They have a very good squad and stability with their manager.
"When a manager can stay four or five years it means they are building something and signing the right players at the right moments.
"Even if they didn't win a trophy until now, they are close."
