Is Mourinho tarnishing his reputation by clinging on at Manchester United?

After Manchester United’s draw on the south coast to Southampton, it seemed like Mark Hughes was the manager to save his job, while Jose Mourinho’s future looked anything but certain. However, the Southampton board didn’t see it that way and, despite claiming a point against United, saw fit to release Hughes from his duties as Saints boss.

A few years ago, there would have been mutiny in the stands of a club that decided to fire their manager after holding Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to a draw, and, in some ways, the decision to fire Hughes shows how poor United are now perceived to be. Sure, the Saints have had their own problems, and their house is far from being in order, but this Manchester United side should have been beaten.

Mourinho’s charges put in yet another lethargic performance at St Mary’s during the 2-2 draw, and, for large parts of the game, it looked like they were running in quicksand. It was almost quite a humorous display that peaked when Lukaku tripped and then fell comically after trying to control a simple pass. The camera kept panning to Ed Woodward in the stands where the Manchester United vice-chairman could be seen shaking his head and generally looking on in disgust.

It defies belief that Woodward hasn’t sent Mourinho on his way and brought another manager in, especially when you consider that Manchester United haven’t outrun one of their opponents this season according to a stat released in November. If that doesn’t speak volumes about the lack of commitment from the players under Mourinho then nothing will, and at 16 points worse off and having scored 38 goals less than Manchester City, surely the time has come to put Mourinho and the United fans out of their collective misery.

Not many would have ever thought they would see the day that United would be at 500/1 to win the league in the latest predictions for Premier League after only 14 games played. It really is a sorry state of affairs, and one can only wonder if Mourinho would still be in a job had his team not gone to Turin and beaten Juventus in the Champions League.

Mourinho has reportedly stated that it would be a “miracle”.

It’s hard to imagine any of the CEOs of the bigger clubs around Europe watching what is unfolding at Old Trafford and being in any way impressed at the way Mourinho is conducting himself. His sullen tone and willingness to blame his players by throwing them under the bus is far from endearing and is undoubtedly doing his reputation a lot of damage.

It does feel like Mourinho's tenure at Manchester United is some way past its sell-by date, and a parting of ways seems the most logical outcome for both sides. Nothing good will come from the way United are currently playing football under Mourinho, and if this carries on any longer, the Portuguese manager may find himself out of work for quite some time once this ends. It’s time to accept that the partnership between Jose Mourinho and Manchester United hasn't worked out as once envisioned and move on.