Jose Mourinho is worried Manchester United will have to play too many games if they keep progressing in all competitions. PHOTO/SKY.
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Feb 16 – Jose Mourinho says he is becoming troubled over Manchester United’s battle over four trophies with the season reaching its climax.
United host St Etienne in the first leg of their last-32 Europa League tie at Old Trafford on Thursday night, followed by Blackburn in the FA Cup on Sunday with a trip to Wembley a week later for the EFL Cup final against Southampton.
If they make the FA Cup quarter-finals, United’s Premier League clash at Southampton on March 12 will be postponed, causing further headaches over fixture build-up.
“We cannot choose competitions at Manchester United,” said Mourinho. “We know that our situation is really complicated.
“We know that the Europa League is also a competition where we play on Thursdays and that makes it even more difficult for us.
“The accumulation of FA Cup and League Cup and the match postponements makes it really hard for us. If we progress in the competitions we will be in trouble in May. We cannot choose competitions, we play them to win.
“It’s also a good way to give the team experience – international experience is always a plus. The Europa League is not a competition we want to play, but it’s a competition we play and we respect it.
“We are in a good phase, we work hard and progress. There was a difficult moment for us when we lost two away matches, but then we managed to play with our best teams and tried to progress which we did.
“The plus is that it’s another opportunity to qualify for the Champions League.”
United’s hopes of making the top four have been boosted in the last two weeks with league wins against Watford and Leicester while seeing their rivals Tottenham and Liverpool take a stumble.
Their next Premier League challenge will be at home to Bournemouth on March 4, live on Sky Sports 1 from 12.30pm.
Mourinho added: “We have two doors still open. One is the Europa League, but we know we’re in the last 32, not even the last eight or four, so there’s a long way to go.
“In the Premier League the door is also open, but we still have a long way to go.”
By Sky Sports
