United seek Swansea boost as Mourinho looks on

 AFP, MANCHESTER: Manchester United are in need of a lift as they travel to Swansea, but must seek it without the presence of their manager Jose Mourinho on the touchline.
Mourinho must watch from the stand at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, having been given a one-match ban for confronting referee Mark Clattenburg at half-time during last weekend’s goalless draw with Burnley.
These are not happy times for the United manager, who was fined £8,000 ($10,000, 9,000 euros) for that incident, and ordered to pay another £50,000 for comments made about another referee, Anthony Taylor, before the goalless draw at Liverpool on October 17. Mourinho has become embroiled in controversies off the field as his team labour on it. 
In the Premier League, United have dropped to eighth place after going four matches without a win and three without a goal.
In the Europa League, they are in danger of being eliminated at the group stage, falling to third place in their section following Thursday’s 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce in Istanbul. The concern for United is that they are not scoring despite dominating the ball; they had 72 percent possession against Burnley, and 70 percent in Turkey. 
It does not help that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is going through one of the worst goalscoring spells of his career. He has gone six league matches without scoring for the first time since December 2007.
The one positive attacking note in the last week was Wayne Rooney’s spectacular consolation goal against Fenerbahce, his first since August.
Despite that goal, Mourinho has acknowledged that his forwards are lacking confidence.
“Sometimes teams don’t score goals because of their philosophy, because the team isn’t aggressive enough and doesn’t risk enough,” he said. “That’s not our case, that’s not our case at all.
“It is also easy to see that some players in our attacking areas lack confidence; they’re not sharp and getting the chances that they can,” the Portuguese boss added.
United will definitely be without Ander Herrera at Swansea as he serves a one-match ban incurred for a sending off against Burnley. 

United seek Swansea boost as Mourinho looks on

AFP, MANCHESTER: Manchester United are in need of a lift as they travel to Swansea, but must seek it without the presence of their manager Jose Mourinho on the touchline. Mourinho must watch from the stand at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, having been given a one-match ban for confronting referee Mark Clattenburg at half-time during last weekends goalless draw with Burnley. These are not happy times for the United manager, who was fined 8,000 ($10,000, 9,000 euros) for that incident, and ordered to pay another 50,000 for comments made about another referee, Anthony Taylor, before the goalless draw at Liverpool on October 17. Mourinho has become embroiled in controversies off the field as his team labour on it. In the Premier League, United have dropped to eighth place after going four matches without a win and three without a goal. In the Europa League, they are in danger of being eliminated at the group stage, falling to third place in their section following Thursdays 2-1 defeat by Fenerbahce in Istanbul. The concern for United is that they are not scoring despite dominating the ball; they had 72 percent possession against Burnley, and 70 percent in Turkey. It does not help that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is going through one of the worst goalscoring spells of his career. He has gone six league matches without scoring for the first time since December 2007. The one positive attacking note in the last week was Wayne Rooneys spectacular consolation goal against Fenerbahce, his first since August. Despite that goal, Mourinho has acknowledged that his forwards are lacking confidence. Sometimes teams dont score goals because of their philosophy, because the team isnt aggressive enough and doesnt risk enough, he said. Thats not our case, thats not our case at all. It is also easy to see that some players in our attacking areas lack confidence; theyre not sharp and getting the chances that they can, the Portuguese boss added. United will definitely be without Ander Herrera at Swansea as he serves a one-match ban incurred for a sending off against Burnley.