Jose: We must be ready for Everton

Jose, Tuesday’s game against Juventus was a really high-level and physical game. What was it like to be involved in?
“Yes, we had two very intense matches [against Juventus and Chelsea] in three days – very, very hard and without many solutions to make changes to the team. The majority of the players played two full matches of high-level football – very intense, very hard. But as I was saying, it was very, very good to match ourselves against one of the best teams in England and then one of the best teams in the world. The results could be better – I think obviously the three points against Chelsea were much deserved and, because of our second half against Juventus, a 1-1 draw would be very acceptable too, so I think the performances were better than the results. We have to try to take the positives, we’ve had time to rest because, from Tuesday to Sunday, it’s a good period of rest and I believe that on Sunday the players can be at a really good level.”

Given how tough those two games were, how is the squad looking? Will you get any players back who are injured?
“[To be] 100 per cent [fit] no, but probably with the effort of the players, the medical department and the fitness people, over the weekend we can recover one or two of them to at least to be on the bench and to give us more options. Jesse [Lingard] is one of those that is possible.”  

 

How tough a test will Everton be on Sunday?
“Difficult. Incredible investment... we knew that the club were going to move in that direction so, in the summer, [they had some] incredible investment. [They bought] very good players. Just to give you an idea, three of them came from Barcelona [Yerry Mina, Andre Gomes and Lucas Digne]. That’s the level that Everton want to reach, without the pressure that we have because obviously [the] Manchester United name, history and dimension brings a different level of responsibility. But I think their conditions are very similar to our conditions, so it's a difficult match for us but I think, after playing Chelsea and Juventus, the players must be ready for the challenge.”

You have a very good record against Everton – does that play any part or have any significance?
"I didn’t even know until you said that. I’m not very good on these numbers and these stats. I forget them, I don’t realise. Sometimes people tell me something about that and I didn’t know it at all. So, I don’t know but it doesn’t play any part – for me, every game is a different game and a completely separate event. What I know from my time at Manchester United is that in the four matches I’ve played against Everton, home and away, all of them were hard, all of them were close, all of them were difficult. Now, with the evolution in their potential, I believe that even more.” 

 

The fans were right behind the team against Juventus, as they were against Chelsea and Newcastle too. How important will the crowd be again on Sunday?
“Very important. I think the crowd has been good to the boys. I think the crowd likes the effort, obviously like myself and everyone else, they want the effort with the result. But I think they [the fans] respect the players’ effort. They knew clearly that against Chelsea the team was phenomenal, and they knew that against Juventus we were playing against probably the best team in Europe now. The boys fought for the result until the very end so, from the crowd, we cannot ask for anything more than they’re giving us.” 

“Yes, the performances are coming and the results – the Newcastle victory was very important obviously, [against] Chelsea we felt very disappointed with the point and we have to try now obviously. Everton is difficult but we have to try to go back to the victories but, if possible, a victory and a good performance because performances are also important.”

 

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