Jose Mourinho seems to have earned himself a major boost in his quest to manage Manchester United after Luis Van Gaal.

Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has come out strongly to defend Jose Mourinho’s style of play. In an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, the Spaniard seemed to endorse the playing style of the former Chelsea man, who has been severally linked with a job at Old Trafford as Luis Van Gaal’s replacement.

The midfielder celebrates one of his goals for Man United. 

Ander Herrera celebrates one of his goals for Man United. Speaking during the interview, the 26-year-old claimed that he did not exactly understand why some people seemed to criticise the Portuguese tactician for playing boring, defensive football in what was famously described as ''parking the bus.’’

The former Athletic Bilbao man argued:

''It’s funny. Mou played for Chelsea with Cesc, Willian, Oscar, Hazard and Costa. Only Matic as defensive midfielder.''

''Is that not attractive?’’

''His Chelsea, with how hard it is, won the Premier well in advance… Yes, I have seen Chelsea play well.’’

He then added: 

"Or at Madrid, where his side scored a record amount of goals in one year?’’

"And aside from that he is a coach who soaks up the pressure on the players, someone who prefers to take the heat so that his players can be relaxed.’’

"I only know that his Chelsea, with all the difficulty that comes with it, won the Premier League last season with four weeks to spare.’’

"Then, and this is the other thing, Van Gaal has a year of his contract left and could continue. Why not? But it doesn't seem to me that Mourinho is a defensive coach. If you compare him to (Rayo Vallecano manager) Paco Jemez then yes, but not in essence. I've seen his Chelsea side play well."

In the two-page interview, he was also quick to add that the current Man United boss Luis Van Gaal deserved more time with the English giants despite the mounting pressure from fans demanding his resignation.Ander Herrera interview with Marca

"The perspective is different here. In England there is more patience, not only with Van Gaal. (Jose) Mourinho, being three points from relegation, wasn't sacked. (Arsene) Wenger went nine years without any titles and continues there. City went three weeks without winning and there weren't any doubts about Pellegrini.’’

"So, returning to Van Gaal, I think it would be unfair to sack him because the way of working in England is to give confidence, and we still have the chance of winning three titles: FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League, even though we are 10 points from Leicester. Distances are less here."

The Red Devils travel to the Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday for their Premier League fixture. Luis Van Gaal’s men must win this match to send a strong statement to their critics, and the same case applies to the Blues, who are keen on earning a respectable finish after disappointing first-half of the season.

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Chelsea 1 - 1 Manchester United

February 7, 2016 11:00amStamford Bridge (London)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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