Our Manchester United fans here in the Transfer Tavern will be hoping to close the gap on rivals Man City next year and fare better in the cup competitions under Mourinho as he reaches three years in charge at the club.

According to our regulars, Mourinho looked like he’d got the perfect formula at the start of the season, as the Red Devils looked to build on the successful first season under the Portuguese boss in which they won the double by winning the League Cup and the Europa League. In doing so, Mourinho became the first United manager to win a trophy, never mind two in his first season.

He has been hugely backed in every transfer market by Ed Woodward and any barring the odd one or two last summer, he has got every one of his transfer targets.

For United to be where they are at the moment is certainly an improvement on how things have been in recent seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. However, they did win the FA Cup under former boss Louis Van Gaal in his last game in charge, so surely Woodward would be looking to add this to the cabinet again in the final few months of the season in order to keep the current silverware streak going.

Our landlord and the darts team at the end of the bar have been discussing what two things Mourinho needs to be asking himself over this season…

Champions League Failure

Man Utd currently sit second in the Premier League, and so they look set to reach the Champions League next season.

However, their poor form in the knockout phase in Europe this term has left our regulars questioning whether it’s even worth it. Man Utd really struggled in the last 16 this term, with Sevilla highlighting their deficiencies, as well as raising wider questions as to the style Mourinho of play.

Given how much money has been spent, Ed Woodward will surely be wondering what on earth went wrong.

Imbalance despite four windows

United for all the quality and talent they have within their squad, the Red Devils are a team that are hugely imbalanced and need to find the right tweaks within the squad to bring the type of football the Old Trafford faithful are used to.

Although times have moved on since the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson, the United DNA still runs deep within the club’s fans and the need for exciting football to return is always on the top of the fans’ minds. As such, Mourinho will surely be wondering where it has all gone wrong for Man Utd. Man City are the better team, and they deserve to be, but Man Utd’s squad suggests that they should be closer to them.