Former Man Utd star tells 'raging' Mourinho to take a year off

Jose Mourinho should take time away from football and has created a negative atmosphere at Manchester United, according to Andrei Kanchelskis.

The Red Devils boss has been under heavy scrutiny this season, having been involved in a public fall-out with former vice-captain Paul Pogba and telling members of the press a number of his young players lacked maturity.

United's latest disappointment came with a 2-1 defeat to Valencia on Wednesday evening which meant they failed to top their Champions League group, although they had already secured qualification to the last 16.

Speaking to Bwin, Kanchelskis said: "Mourinho needs to step away from the game for a year. He’s taking his rage out on the players, fans and media, which means every move he makes is under scrutiny. He’s a great coach and I think after he’s spent some time away from the game, he’ll come back in to his next role stronger and fresher."

Kanchelskis spent time under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford between 1991-95, and was part of a team famous for attacking flair.

Mourinho, on the other hand, has a reputation for his rugged approach to winning at all costs, and was criticised for using 'park-the-bus' tactics during his second spell at Chelsea. 

Kanchelskis thinks that approach is holding the Portuguese manager back at United.

"I don’t think Mourinho will ever have the full backing at Manchester United because he doesn’t play the right football and that is likely what will cost him his job," the former winger continued. 

"He’s known for having a defensive style of football and it’s hard for United fans to adapt to that after watching Ferguson’s attacking football for two decades.

"Mourinho is happy to sit on a 1-0 result and the games can become boring to watch. He’s not going to change the way he manages so I think that it might be best for him to move on from Manchester United at the end of the season."

With Mourinho publicly criticising players, there has become an uncomfortable air around Old Trafford, and Kanchelskis thinks that is a major reason for the side's poor results on the pitch.

"There is clearly tension between Mourinho and certain players, and that has affected the whole dressing room," he added.

"Before the game and at half-time, you need to keep a positive mentality in the changing room, but there’s clearly a negative atmosphere that is impacting the players' performance and Mourinho has to take responsibility for that. Criticising the players in public is unlikely to help, that’s for sure."

United currently sit in sixth, and have a challenging fixture away to league leaders Liverpool this weekend. Kanchelskis thinks it is unlikely they will finish in the top four and says their fate will be decided after Christmas.

"Manchester United’s top four hopes will be decided after the Christmas fixtures," said the former Russia international. "There’s a lot of games around Christmas and the New Year and Man Utd have to bridge the gap between them and the top four. If they can’t close that gap by New Year, I can’t see them finishing in the top four this season."