After Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement last season a power vacuum emerged in the Premier League that has managers clambering to be crowned the mind games king.
However, the obvious man for ascension is Joe Mourinho and, after saying that Manchester United only won last season’s league because the other teams were poor, it seems like the games have begun.
United meet Chelsea in an early season clash on Monday that could prove crucial in May; however, United defender Jonny Evans has revealed the Reds’ players don’t care about what Mourinho has to say.
“It’s all just mind games really. It’s maybe his way of trying to unsettle us,” said Evans.
“We don’t read too much into that kind of thing and, as players, we laugh that kind of thing off.”
Mourinho returned to Chelsea after leaving the club in 2007 and many believe that the manager can bring the Premier League back to Stamford Bridge.
“Everyone is saying that now Chelsea have Mourinho back, it will make a big difference to them but we will have to wait and see whether that will be the case,” said Evans.
“I am sure he will have an impact but we might have to wait a month or two before you realise who is going to be challenging for the title.
“Mourinho had that spell at Chelsea when he gave his players a lot of confidence but it remains to be seen whether he can have that impact again.”
United were comfortable winners of the Premier League last season however, Evans believes that this season will be more competitive and several teams will challenge for the league.
“It’s not just us three [United, City, Chelsea] There are other teams around who can have a big impact on the league and, you never know, another team could surprise us.
“There’s a lot of competition out there and every team has a lot of quality. Spurs have spent a lot of money, so it’s going to be a good, open season.”
Image courtesy of manutd.com, with thanks
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