Jose Mourinho challenges Paul Pogba to repeat his World Cup performances at Man Utd

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has challenged France World Cup winner Paul Pogba to repeat his performances in Russia this upcoming season.

Pogba starred for France this summer as they triumphed in Russia. The midfielder scored a superb goal in the World Cup final to help Les Bleus defeat Croatia 4-2 en route to claiming their first World Cup victory since 1998.

The Frenchman has struggled for consistency for the Red Devils – particularly last season – with the animosity between Pogba and Mourinho well documented in the press.

Despite showing flashes of individual greatness – most notably in United’s fantastic 3-2 win away at Manchester City – the Old Trafford club still finished a massive 19 points behind City with both Pogba’s desire and Mourinho’s intent coming under scrutiny.

However, speaking to reporters, Mourinho has strongly advised Pogba to find his consistency that hushed many critics in Russia and bring it back to England.

“I don’t think it’s about us getting the best out of him, it’s about him giving the best he has to give,” the United manager told ESPN FC.

“During a season, you can have a big match then a smaller match, then one even smaller, then you can lose your focus, you can lose your concentration, then comes a big match again.

“In the World Cup, the direction of the emotion, of the responsibility, of the big decisions is always growing up.”

Mourinho continued: “You are in the group phase, you go to the last 16, to the quarter-finals, to the semi-finals, to the finals. This feeds the motivation. This feeds the concentration of a player.

“So I think it was the perfect environment for him.

“I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give [their] best.

“Why? Because it’s closed for a month, where he can only think about football. Where he’s with his team on the training camp, completely isolated from the external world, where they focus just on football, where the dimensions of the game can only motivate.”

Mourinho has already looked to the transfer window this summer to boost United’s hopes of a first Premier League title since 2013.

The Red Devils have so far brought in Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant but with just two weeks remaining in the transfer window time is ticking should the Portuguese wish to further improve his squad.

The post Jose Mourinho challenges Paul Pogba to repeat his World Cup performances at Man Utd appeared first on Squawka News.

From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2AcaKXu