'United Board share blame for club's predicament'

Manchester United's board must share the blame with Jose Mourinho for the club's current predicament, says former Red Devils goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.

A 3-1 Premier League loss at rivals Liverpool proved the final straw for Mourinho's time at the club, his sacking confirmed on Tuesday despite the Portuguese signing a new contract earlier this year. Mourinho won the EFL Cup and Europa League during his spell in charge but departs with United sixth in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool and 11 adrift of the top four.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has come under fire from sections of United's support, who flew a banner describing him as a "specialist in failure" ahead of September's Premier League win at Burnley.  And Bosnich feels United's board, now seeking a fourth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, contributed to the recent struggles under Mourinho.

"When something goes wrong at a football club like this, I think everybody has got to take a wee bit of blame," Bosnich told Omnisport. "The bottom line is it was the board that appointed him originally but it's the board who have turned around this time and said it's time for you to go. But the bulk of the responsibility will be shared between the players and the manager. It’s much easier to change one man than 23 players.

"I'm disappointed about how the whole thing has worked out. I did think after the Liverpool debacle that the board would have a decision whether or not they go with Jose for the rest of the season and give him money in January, without knowing whether or not they qualify for the top four - they may let him go anyway.

"Or there would have been people saying, 'If we don't give him money, the fans, who are the most important thing, and Jose will have the opportunity to say, 'I didn't exactly get backed'. "They obviously made the decision to go now but, like I said, overall it's disappointing. A manager of his standing who won two trophies and came second last season to finish on this note was something that nobody was expecting before Christmas."

Former United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored the winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final, has been appointed as the club's caretaker manager until the end of the 2018-19 season. And Bosnich feels former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane and Tottenham's highly rated manager Mauricio Pochettino are the two leading contenders to take the job on a permanent basis.

"I probably would say Pochettino because of his experience in English football and how well he's done at Tottenham. Although he's won no trophies, not yet, he might win the EFL Cup," Bosnich added. "Zidane is another fantastic choice in my opinion but on the other side of that coin is the calibre of players he inherited at Real Madrid is completely different to the ones at Manchester United.

"He has had the experience of winning three European Cups on the trot and there is a person there that is so well liked and respected, all players would like to play for him.

"You mentioned [Juventus boss Massimiliano] Allegri as well, but would [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy and Juventus be willing to let their managers go? I'd be going up to my managers now and saying, 'Here's a new contract' and see what they say. Would United want to spend money when they could get Zidane for free? I don't think so."