5 things Mourinho has to do to revive Manchester United

Jose Mourinho is feeling the heat at Manchester United, but that’s okay. Managing Manchester United is about managing pressure and expectations.It has made fools of many but it has made legends of a select few.David Moyes lasted seven months. Louis van Gaal – formerly of Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich – never looked comfortable in his two-season tenure.Mourinho has already accomplished so much in his career. He achieved the unthinkable with his unbelievable Champions League triumph with Porto in 2004, he put Chelsea on the map with back-to-back Premier League titles, won another European title with Internazionale and wrestled the La Liga title from Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Barcelona sides with Real Madrid.At United, Mourinho faces his biggest challenge yet as he finds himself chasing a Guardiola inspired mega-spending Manchester City Goliath in a league where every team represents a genuine threat over 90 minutes.Re-establishing the club as the force it once was under Sir Alex Ferguson in light of that threat would arguably be Mourinho’s biggest accomplishment yet.Here are five things Mourinho needs to get right before the start of next season to reassert United as the best team in England.#5 Decide on a playing philosophyMourinho's United team lacks identityWatching Manchester United can be a confusing experience. At times, it’s a thing of beauty.Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia sprint down the touchline, overlapping their respective wingers.Romelu Lukaku leads the line expertly, creating acres of space for the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to exploit with their dazzling skill and blistering pace.Paul Pogba roams across the midfield, spreading pin-point passes to stretch the play, or linking up with those directly ahead of him to leave opponents twisted and dazed.When United play like this, they score goals for fun. Sometimes as many as four fly in over 90 minutes.Then there are other days when United seem to be doing its best Stoke City circa 2009 impression.Plenty of numbers behind the ball, long and hopeful balls to the front-line as Lukaku turns more into a battering ram than a footballer, while Pogba runs from box-to-box chasing second balls and struggling to find a spare second to compose himself.Mourinho’s biggest failing as Manchester United manager so far has been his inability to instil a common philosophy across the squad.Tactical versatility is a good thing, and Mourinho has the players to be flexible enough with his team selections, but he needs to decide what image his new United is going to be built in.The free-flowing team Mourinho picks against the Premier League’s lower teams, or the conservative, counter-based teams he picks against the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.Mourinho can have success with either, but he has to work out which one he wants and build the team that can execute that gameplan week in, week out against any opposition.Also read: 5 things that went wrong for Manchester United

5 things Mourinho has to do to revive Manchester United

#2 Solve the midfield puzzle