Jose Mourinho cannot understand when pundits suggest intense atmospheres at grounds like Anfield can be a negative for his Manchester United players.
“You know, it's funny for me,”he said. “Because, when people speak about big atmospheres, it looks like we don't like it. It looks like we have a big problem for us to go to a certain place and face a certain atmosphere. But this is what we want.”
"I never see a player complain that this atmosphere was a bit strong. We complain when the atmosphere is flat."
“I am surprised that you speak about that in a negative way and I am even more surprised when you see former big players speak about atmospheres like they are something sinister that worries us. It motivates us. It's something we want. It's something that, if we could have every match, we would have it every match.When Barcelona played against Las Palmas with an empty stadium, do you think the players are happy with that? Do you think the Las Palmas players wouldn't prefer to play with the Nou Camp full of people with a great atmosphere?“
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Mourinho joked during his press conference that will field one defender and nine forwards at Anfield
“You speak about Old Trafford and Anfield like it's a big problem,”
he added. “But it's a satisfaction, that's what we want. I never see a player complain that this atmosphere was a bit strong. We complain when the atmosphere is flat. When we play at home and we don't see big enthusiasm in the people, we complain.
”So we go to where we go. We go to play who we play. There's big tradition, in an amazing stadium, and we know the fans have animosity against Manchester United historically. But this is what we want. So we are very happy to have one more opportunity to play in these beautiful conditions. It's beautiful to play at Anfield.“
MUTV's live build-up from Anfield begins at 10:30 BST on Saturday.