‘Great’ Mourinho aims for victory at Turf Moor after Manchester United’s humbling start

JOSE MOURINHO was keen to remind everyone during the week that he is “one of the greatest managers in the world”.​​

But what is the target for the Special One this season? Victory away to Burnley today – pure and simple.

Forget the eight titles that Mourinho has won in Italy, Spain and England, including three Premier Leagues with Chelsea.

The only number that matters to the Manchester United manager is three points, which he wants his side to claim at Turf Moor.

Mourinho has been forced to go back to basics after overseeing United’s worst start to a league campaign for 26 years.

It’s the first time since the initial year of Premier League football they have lost two of their first three matches.

Conceding three goals to both Brighton away and at home to Tottenham has set the alarm bells ringing for many fans at Old Trafford, especially as it’s been plain sailing so far for most of their rivals.

However, as the noise about his long-term future at United ramps up, the Portuguese is determined to remain unflustered.

While three points from three matches is a bad start, Mourinho admits that he knew his team would not come flying out of the blocks.

“A realistic target for us is to win at Burnley,” he says. “After that, win at Watford.

“We have matches to play every week and the target is always to win.

“I said in the summer before the competition started that finishing second was going to be even harder this season.

“It’s not especially the case now after two defeats. Two defeats are two defeats. We still have 35 matches to play.

“It’s not because we lost six points that this is going to change. I knew this was going to be difficult because I knew that last season was going to be very, very difficult.

“Last season we won four of the first five matches. We did 13 points from five matches, scoring a lot of goals in those matches. Then we lost a couple.

“Maybe this time we started with two defeats and who knows if now we will have a good run that gives us consecutive victories and consecutive points.”

United have suffered greatly in comparison to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in the last season over their varying styles of play.

The opening 45 minutes against Spurs on Monday offered hope that the Reds could play on the front foot, but that was undone by costly second half defensive lapses.

Mourinho is eager to point out that his side cannot play that attacking football without a secure backline.

“The teams that are really, really good offensively are the teams that are very, very solid from the back,” he argues.

“It’s a process that has risks, especially if you make the defensive mistakes that break that dynamic.

“Against Tottenham, we were really positive and strong and a very good opponent felt they were really in trouble. But two mistakes in five minutes lost the game for us.

“Other teams play the way they play and we play the way we play. They are what they are and we are what we are.”

United learnt their Champions League fate, too, and they have been paired with Juventus, Valencia and Young Boys of Switzerland.

It will be a return to Old Trafford for Cristiano Ronaldo with new club Juve, and a reunion for French star Paul Pogba with the Italian giants.

Pogba’s performances at United have come under scrutiny, even more so after winning the World Cup with France this summer.

But Christian Karembeu, part of the French World Cup-winning squad 20 years ago believes the best way for Mourinho to get the most from his £89million man is with an arm around the shoulder.

“Jose is one of the best and we need to respect his job,” says the Olympiakos Sporting Director.

“It was Mourinho who made Pogba come back to Manchester United.

“I played my best when a manager encouraged me. We are all human beings. From childhood, it is better to have parents that guide you and tell you why it’s better to do some things and not others. It is the same for a manager.

“Of course, Paul is today missing a father also. I think Jose could be the one to give him this opportunity to shine again.”