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Mourinho was sent to the stand for the second time in a month during Sunday's draw against West Ham. Rui Vieira
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'I think it’s a major crisis for the club on two fronts' - Dunphy lays into Mourinho

The pundit feels United could struggle to meet this season’s objectives under their new manager.

Updated 13:25

RTÉ FOOTBALL PUNDIT Eamon Dunphy feels the conduct of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is damaging the image of the Old Trafford club and says he fears for the team’s future prospects.

The former Chelsea manager was sent off for the second time in a month during Sunday’s 1-1 draw against West Ham, when he kicked over a water bottle in reaction to referee Jon Moss giving Paul Pogba a yellow card for diving.

“He looks like he’s losing the plot,” Dunphy told RTÉ 2FM’s Game On.

“It was 20, 25 minutes into the match, they’re 1-0 down but there’s no crisis that I can see. They were playing okay, I thought that they played reasonably well.”

Earlier this season, Mourinho was fined £50,000 for questioning the appointment of referee Anthony Taylor before United’s trip to Liverpool.

The 53-year-old was also banned and fined for using abusive language towards a match official during the scoreless draw with Burnley in October. And Dunphy feels his temperament needs to be addressed.

“Mourinho’s behaviour will damage the club’s reputation and I think the club will take that view for sure.”

“From our first shot on television it looked as if contact had been made but another angle showed that Pogba was diving, it was an outrageous dive and the referee was right to book him.

“There was no reason to lose your head over it. it wasn’t an outrageous penalty claim or a goal disallowed but even if it was, that kind of stuff, with his record, he’s going to get a long ban.

“He’s just had a ban, he’s the manager of Manchester United and that carries its own responsibilities.”

Mourinho has fewer points (20) after 13 games than either of his predecessors, Louis van Gaal or David Moyes, and his sixth-placed team are currenly 11 points behind league leaders Chelsea and eight behind Arsenal, who sit in fourth.

The weekend’s draw with the Hammers also meant United have failed to win in four consecutive league games at Old Trafford for the first time since February 1990.

“I think the team is in trouble and Mourinho’s making curious decisions. He didn’t play Wayne Rooney yesterday, Rooney came back in the Europa League on Thursday night, scored a goal, made a goal and played really well.

“He looked to have his confidence back and Rooney with confidence, playing in the right position, is still a powerful player against West Ham.

“I think it’s a major crisis for the club on two fronts. One is that they’re eight points behind the Champions League places and they’ve some tough, tough teams to play.

“On the other hand, Mourinho’s behaviour will damage the club’s reputation and I think the club will take that view for sure.”

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