Manchester United will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday at Wembley and the United manager has made a special request to his club’s travelling fans.
Jose Mourinho has urged his fans to be vocal during the game so that his team can enjoy a home ground atmosphere. But the Portuguese has also clarified that the support from the fans will depend on how his players perform on the pitch.
“If the 30,000 fans are similar to the 1,000 or 2,000 that we have at every away match, then we will be more than at home,” said Mourinho on Friday.
“It depends on their profile, but it also depends on us, it also depends on the team and the way we perform, the way we fight, the way we commit to every second of the game.
“I think that will also make an influence on the fans.”
Manchester United have shown a dip in performance over the past week and this has even affected the atmosphere at Old Trafford.
So much so that a fan was caught sleeping during one of Manchester United’s home games.
Mourinho also rebuffed the claim that Tottenham Hotspur will be enjoying home support at the Wembley given the fact that the Lilywhites have played their homes games at the stadium during the current season.
“I played one cup final at Roma’s stadium against Roma and I won and I play a cup final in my stadium [Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as Real Madrid manager] and I lost, so I think when you go to these big moments with these big decisions, semi-finals, finals, I don’t think it’s an advantage,” he added.
“I think we have to look at it in the same way that we do when we had Derby at Old Trafford, Brighton at Old Trafford and Huddersfield away.
“Sometimes it’s at home, sometimes it’s away. This time it’s away, but I don’t see any advantage. For me, it’s the same as playing at Old Trafford.”
