Sherwood would suit Man United better than Mourinho, claims Parker

The former Red Devils defender believes that Louis van Gaal’s ailing side need a manager who can restore morale and doubts that the former Chelsea boss fits the bill.

Manchester United would be better off appointing Tim Sherwood to save their season than Jose Mourinho, claims former defender Paul Parker.

The Red Devils are on course to win fewer than 60 points in the Premier League this season and record their lowest total ever since 1991, with Louis van Gaal’s struggles continuing with a 2-1 defeat by Sunderland on Saturday.

Mourinho has been widely reported as a possible recruit since his sacking by Chelsea earlier this season but Parker believes that the Portuguese coach would be the wrong kind of personality to improve performances at Old Trafford.

“To suggest that he could walk into a crisis situation at United and turn it around is absurd,” Parker wrote about Mourinho for Eurosport. “It’s something he’s never done in his career and this really wouldn’t be the time to start.

“He’s lost a huge amount of respect in the game and I suspect the players at United hate the idea of him taking over.

“Frankly, given how unhappy the players are now, they’d be better off bringing in Tim Sherwood between now and the end of the season: someone to soften the players up, give them a bit of a hug, make them feel good about themselves once again,” he said.

“Unfortunately, as we saw with Tim, those kinds of managers don’t work long term and United need to start thinking about the long term as soon as possible, otherwise they face a major danger: turning into the new Liverpool.”