'Mourinho will be gone before Christmas' - Man Utd boss 'wrong man for the job', says Sharpe

Jose Mourinho is “the wrong man for the job” at Manchester United, says Lee Sharpe, with the Portuguese set to be “gone before Christmas”.

The Red Devils moved to bring in Mourinho after seeing David Moyes and Louis van Gaal fail to inspire confidence and lift the mood around Old Trafford in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

Mourinho was able to deliver three trophies in his debut campaign, but ended 2017-18 empty-handed and saw his hands tied over the summer during a frustrating transfer market.

He has now overseen a stuttering start to the new season , with a narrow win over Leicester followed by a 3-2 defeat at Brighton, and Sharpe believes the “dour” 55-year-old is on borrowed time.

The former United winger told Press Association Sport : “[Mourinho] is the wrong man for the job.

“When he came to Chelsea the first time he was quite charming and fun, but now he just seems dour and fed up.

“He’s moaned about not signing new players and not bigging up the ones he’s got.

“The football’s not entertaining and what makes it twice as bad is that their two biggest rivals, Man City and Liverpool, do play exciting football.

“His negative style does not fit in with the expansive football that United fans want. I think he’ll be gone before Christmas.”

Sharpe is also of the opinion that Mourinho's  public questioning of high-profile figures has done little to build collective harmony around Old Trafford.

The ex-England international added: “I do not think Mourinho has handled the [Paul] Pogba situation very well.

“It was the same with Luke Shaw before that. Any views should be kept in-house and not appear in the press.

“Mourinho talks about class [he accused Manchester City of lacking it by making their Amazon TV series] but that is the sign of class in my eyes.

“Every player who played for Sir Alex Ferguson – whether they liked him or not – respected him because you knew that any grievances would not be aired in the press.”

United were expected to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title this season, but Sharpe admits the early indications are that they could be left scrapping it out for a top-four finish.

“I think United fans accepted second last year because they were behind a City side breaking loads of records,” he said.

“But, if they are down in third and fourth and playing rubbish, are the fans and the board, in particular, still going to put up with that? I’m not so sure.”