Mourinho's Winning Habit

Since taking over as Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho has spoken about the importance of engendering a winning attitude.

Winning and winning and winning, so that it almost becomes automatic. Routine victories may never be too frequent in the current Premier League, as it seems sometimes like every victory must be fought for, but the sentiment was clear from a serial achiever.

The habit of securing three points, even when not playing particularly well, has always been the hallmark of teams challenging for the top honours. The Reds may not have been on top form at West Ham, possibly due to a mixture of tiredness and, conversely, the shape of the game changing when the hosts were reduced to 10 men so early on.

However, seven victories on the spin in all competitions is something to be proud of. At least two goals have been scored in all but one of those games, with the exception being a significant 1-0 triumph over one of the meanest defences in the country, Tottenham Hotspur. Not bad for a side that was struggling to put its chances away earlier in the campaign.
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If only Everton had not secured a point late on through Leighton Baines's penalty on 4 December, it would have been a run of nine consecutive wins stretching back to the comprehensive 4-1 victory over West Ham in the EFL Cup. Things are undoubtedly starting to click and yet United are still outside the top four, largely due to the equally impressive form of most of the Reds' rivals. That said, Arsenal being held 3-3 at Bournemouth last night means the Gunners are only two points clear of Mourinho's men after playing the same number of games.

The fact fifth-placed Tottenham meet Chelsea this evening will maybe give Reds fans a dilemma as to which result would be preferred. Can the leaders realistically be caught with a 10-point advantage over Mourinho's men? It's still possible, even if Spurs dropping points would at least open the door further to a top-four slot.

What is for certain is that victory over Liverpool in our next Premier League fixture would not only be particularly sweet but it could really shake up the scrap for places at the head of the table. Just one slip by Jurgen Klopp's side at Sunderland - their 2-2 draw on Monday - has turned a supposedly all-conquering team hailed as Chelsea's only title rivals into one that could sit just two points clear of United come the meeting at Old Trafford on 15 January.

The Merseysiders have only lost twice all season so beating them is a tough task but, considering the way Mourinho masterminded what was a largely comfortable 0-0 draw at Anfield in mid-October, there is every reason to be confident a famous win could be secured.

The manager relishes the big occasion and a tactical battle with an adversary. He's already called on the supporters to make the difference when Liverpool come to town and he should expect no different on that front. United are on a roll and this acid test can leave the overall league picture looking rather different very soon.

The views expressed in this article are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United Football Club.

Credit: Manutd.com