Former Barcelona assistant boss Gerard van der Lem admits that he didn’t expect Jose Mourinho to replace Louis van Gaal at Manchester United last summer in such a ruthless manner.
Manchester United called time on Van Gaal’s two-year stint at Old Trafford at the end of last season, just a few days after he led them to an FA Cup triumph at Wembley.
The Dutchman’s future at the club was consistently in peril over the second half of last season and Mourinho continued to be touted to replace him, despite Van Gaal’s assertion that he retained the faith of the club hierarchy.
Manchester United appointed Mourinho just a few days after sacking Van Gaal and the Dutchman’s long term associate Van der Lem didn’t expect the Portuguese to show such ruthlessness.
However, the 64-year-old, who worked with Van Gaal and Mourinho at Barcelona, admits that the Manchester United manager is mentality much harder compared to the Dutchman.
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Van der Lem told De Telegraaf: “I didn’t expect him to take over from Louis in such an ugly way and cast him aside at United.
“But people like Mourinho have a different mentality compared to us Dutch.
“They are much harder.”
Mourinho has already led Manchester United to the EFL Cup this season and can add the Europa League to his list this evening.
