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Pogba says ‘not allowed’ to talk after Man United stalemate
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Oct 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Paul Pogba said he was
not allowed to talk after Manchester United failed to arrest their recent
slump with a drab 0-0 Champions League draw against Valencia.
Jose Mourinho’s United have made their worst start to a league campaign in
29 years after an embarrassing 3-1 loss at West Ham and are already out of
the League Cup.
Tuesday’s stalemate at Old Trafford was their fourth consecutive match
without a win.
Many players avoided the post-match mixed zone interview area after the
game to avoid awkward questions.
Pogba was among those to go through but told reporters “I’ve been told I’m
not allowed (to talk).”
The French World Cup winner, who was last week told he would not captain
the side again, appeared to get under Mourinho’s skin after their recent draw
with Wolves by saying United should attack more.
Captain Antonio Valencia and midfielder Marouane Fellaini have both backed
the manager despite the growing crisis at the club.
Valencia insisted he is “fully supportive” of Mourinho after appearing to
back calls for the under-fire manager to leave.
The 33-year-old ‘liked’ an Instagram post from a fan account which said
that “recently Mourinho has made watching us a punishment” and “it’s time for
Mourinho to go”.
But he attempted to explain and apologise on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that
accompanied the picture,” the right-back wrote on Twitter.
“These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of
the manager and my teammates.”
“Everything will calm down when we get some wins,” the Ecuadoran added. “We
are 100 per cent behind the manager.”
The players attempted to show a united front before kick-off by breaking
with tradition and taking part in a pre-match huddle.
“Everyone is going in the same direction to try to improve and to do
better,” Fellaini said of the on-pitch huddle. “I think we wanted to show
that we are together.”
“I think we showed improvement and we have to keep going,” he added.
“Everybody (was behind the idea). I think everybody is behind the manager.”
BSS/AFP/BZC/1830HRS