The English Premier League is one of those rare football leagues in Europe which do not get a winter break, as compared to Spain's La Liga or the German Bundesliga. They have an annual Boxing Day fixture on December 26, the day after Christmas.
Therefore, it is not so unusual for the Premier League clubs to compromise their complete day-off on Christmas and train for an hour or so in the morning, following a sweet and simple round of bread and wine. Jose Mourinho, however, has taken the training period for Manchester United on Christmas 2016 to a whole new level.
Let's face it. Almost everyone believed that the Portuguese manager would take the Premier League heavyweights to newer heights -- following some forgettable campaigns under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. However, that hasn't happened yet.
The Red Devils are currently fifth in the PL 2016/17 points table with 24 points from 15 games. Definitely, almost everyone expected Mourinho to inspire United to at least a top four berth by the time it's Christmas 2016. Clearly that's not happened!
To cover the embarrassment and disappointment, Mourinho has called upon the Manchester United squad, which includes the non-playing staff as well, to organise a training session at 4.30 pm. Unusual? But that's the Jose Mourinho way!
Even previous coach Louis van Gaal came easy on the United army during this time of the year by giving the players a complete day off from training to spend time with their families.
Clearly, everyone's disappointed! "Everyone is seriously p***** off. They've never heard anything like it - not even under Fergie," a source close to the development told exclusively to Sun. "All the staff are used to coming in and sorting training out at Carrington but having it at Old Trafford adds a whole new level of organisation and brings more staff in.
"Jose's had a face like thunder at the training ground for most of the season and is clearly not happy with results. Some staff will even have to stay later on to sort out the pitch and stadium for the next day's home game. He's effectively cancelled Christmas," the source added.
Manchester United take on Sunderland at the Old Trafford on Boxing Day 2016.
