Jose Mourinho has already thrown shade at Erik ten Hag ahead of Man Utd reunion

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho is gearing up to face Manchester United for the fifth time since his 2018 sacking on Thursday. United travel to Istanbul in search of their first Europa League win of the season, having started the league phase with frustrating draws against FC Twente and FC Porto.

Erik ten Hag will again be the centre of attention as intense scrutiny of his position rumbles on despite Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Brentford at Old Trafford.

But Mourinho’s reunion with the club he coached from the summer of 2016 to the end of 2018 is also understandably a hot topic.

During an appearance at the FWA Northern Managers’ Awards dinner on Sunday night, Ten Hag expressed his excitement to do battle with Mourinho.

“It’s a big game for both of us… he is a winner, he’s won so many trophies, I think he’s an example for many, many managers so I really enjoy to play against them,” the Dutchman explained.

Mourinho will undoubtedly be relishing the challenge just as much – and the opportunity to apply further pressure on Ten Hag from his former employers.

The 61-year-old threw shade at Ten Hag at the end of last season as he appeared on TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

Jadon Sancho featured at Wembley in the final appearance of his second stint with the Bundesliga giants.

He rejoined on loan from United in January after a public fallout with Ten Hag, during which he essentially labelled his boss a liar for criticism of his attitude in training.

And Mourinho seemingly took Sancho’s side ahead of Real’s 2-0 victory, claiming Ten Hag was unable to get the best out of the winger.

“As a player, we know his talent. We saw what he could do, there are no doubts about it,” Mourinho told Laura Woods and Rio Ferdinand pitchside.

“What happened at Man United? If I look at my own history, I see that sometimes I failed with players. Sometimes, I couldn’t create the right empathy.

“I couldn’t understand the player’s DNA, and I couldn’t help players grow up in the right direction. The majority of times, yes, I did it, but on some occasions, I couldn’t.

“I think sometimes we have to learn with experiences, which I tried always to do, to try to understand the nature of the player. Sometimes they have the talent but don’t have the mindset you want from a player.

“For sure, the kid [Sancho] made mistakes, that’s for sure, but for sure his manager was not able to get the best out of him.”