Manchester United make desperate plea for Jose Mourinho with Louis van Gaal nearing sack

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is believed to have contacted the Special One's agent to see if he will take over BEFORE the end of this season

   Save us, Jose! Ed Woodward has reportedly made a call to Jorge Mendes enquiring about Jose Mourinho

Manchester United have made a desperate SOS call to Jose Mourinho - with Louis van Gaal on the brink of the sack.

Struggling United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is believed to have contacted Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes on Friday morning to see if the former Chelsea boss is willing to take over from Van Gaal before the end of the season.

And Mourinho said on Friday: "I don't search for clubs, clubs search for me."

He was linked with a return to Inter Milan this week but soothed any United concerns by saying: "Let me make it clear...I will not be Inter manager next season."

Woodward and United's owners the Glazer family were prepared to leave Van Gaal in charge until the end of the season, when he would be told to make way for Mourinho.

But United's shock Europa League loss to Danish side FC Midtjylland, on the back of defeat at relegation-threatened Sunderland, has piled fresh pressure on Van Gaal.

Should United lose to League One Shrewsbury in the FA Cup on Monday, exit the Europa League and be cast further adrift in the race for a top-four place when they host Arsenal the following Sunday, Van Gaal's position will be untenable.

Against that backdrop, there is a growing sense Van Gaal could go before the end of the campaign, with Mourinho coming in to salvage a season that is on the brink of collapse.

Mourinho is expected to be at Inter's match with Sampdoria on Saturday night but said: "I go for a day to personally say thanks to my president Mister Moratti.

"I left Inter in 2010 and since then work was hard every day in Madrid and Chelsea and it was difficult to find a moment to have lunch with the Moratti family. We agreed on this Saturday a few weeks ago.



"Inter has a project that belongs to Mister Roberto Mancini, a project that I totally support and wish will end in success."
Mourinho, sacked by Chelsea in December, finished: "My next challenge, my next club? I really don't know. I just know that I love football and I will be back with the same passion nd ambition as ever, having during this period a respectful behaviour to every manager and every club. I don't search for clubs, clubs search for me."

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United's players have become increasingly disillusioned with life under Van Gaal and there is a fear their season could soon be over, amid squad discontent over the 64-year-old's methods.

Although Van Gaal has 14 players out through injury, there is an acceptance among the United hierarchy that the team should be performing better, even allowing for so many enforced absences.

With United in danger of missing out on the Champions League for the second time in three years, the club are understood to be ready to ditch Van Gaal in the coming days if he cannot turn the situation around.


United No.2 Ryan Giggs wants the job on a permanent basis and does not want a repeat of the caretaker role he undertook when Moyes was sacked, taking charge for the last four games of the season.

That could see Giggs end his glittering association with United, which spans three decades, with the club's most decorated player ready to move on elsewhere if he is not handed the manager's job.

CREDIT:http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/manchester-united-make-desperate-plea-7404206