Phil Neville has insisted that winning the Premier League title with Manchester United is a priority for Jose Mourinho over the Champions League.
After finishing sixth last term, Mourinho’s men have started the season as if they are on a mission and are currently level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League tree.
Manchester United have not won the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season and Neville believes it will get more uncomfortable for the club the longer they spend without winning the Premier League.
While they have made a good start to the Champions League and have ambition to do well in the competition, the former Red Devil feels winning Manchester United’s 21st league title will be a priority for Mourinho this term over anything else.
Asked if winning the league is more important for Manchester United than the Champions League, Neville said on the Premier League TV’s Premier League Today show: “Yes as for Manchester United the Premier League at this moment is bigger than winning the Champions League.
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“Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired it has become a noose around the club’s neck, they can’t win the Premier League without him and it’s another year gone.
“When I obviously first broke into the team it was 26 years [since they won the league] and they don’t want it to keep building and building and have that gap since the last time they won the league.
“I think for Jose the start of the building block was the trophies last year, but the actual foundation is the Premier League and United I think will want to win the Premier League more than the Champions League.”
19 points from their opening seven games constitute Manchester United’s best start in the Premier League since the 2011/12 campaign when Manchester City pipped them to the title on goal difference, with Sergio Aguero scoring an iconic goal in stoppage time on the last day of the season.
