Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia has recently spoken positively regarding the club’s charismatic manager Jose Mourinho, praising the Portuguese tactician for bringing the “fear factor” back at Old Trafford this season.
With United playing obsessive possession football last season under Louis van Gaal, the Reds were engrossed with holding the ball they appeared to have forgotten to attack and score goals.
After all, it isn’t the possession stats that win you matches, it’s the goals that hand a team the victory – a fact United appear to have forgotten before Mourinho came in just before this season started in the summer of last year.
True enough, Van Gaal’s brand of football, which has been labelled by many as “boring”, has had United break a lot of unwanted records last season. Some of those include the first time ever Swansea won a double against United in the league as well as Norwich City gaining their first-ever triumph at Old Trafford.
Many pointed out at that time that relatively smaller teams no longer feared Manchester United. However, with the help of Mourinho, the side is slowly but surely turning things around this season – something Valencia has certainly noticed.
“I think a lot has changed. The atmosphere – we play with more confidence, with more happiness and with more responsibility. I think we’re a lot happier,” the Ecuador international told The Telegraph.
“I think the fear factor we have to create ourselves, we have to put the fear into teams every time they come to Old Trafford. They have to feel the pressure, that we are playing well, doing things well, playing with responsibility and we are pressing them.
“This is the mentality that we have,” Valencia added.
Fans will certainly be hoping United continue to play with swagger and confidence in an effort to maintain their winning run – the Reds have won their last six games.
United are set to host Bournemouth for their Premier League match on Saturday.