Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted feeling sympathy for David Moyes after the Scot inherited a declining squad and a sizeable challengefrom Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013, but appears to have also taken a slight dig after stating that he himself wouldn't have minded working with certain individuals available at the club at that time.
"If you have conditions to follow that successful history, then that's a different story," Mourinho explained at his press conference ahead of the Boxing Day with Moyes' Sunderland - the former boss' first return to Old Trafford since being sacked.
"One thing is Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and [Nicky] Butt, all these guys at 25 or 26 or 27 years old. Another thing is to have them at 30, 31 or 32.
"[Moyes] didn't have them, and obviously that plays a part, there are generations.
"In a certain period when probably David came, the situation was not so easy, it was not so easy to go in that winning direction. At the same time, and I think this is even more important, the Premier League was changing."
Moyes recently lifted the lid on United's failed transfer exploits in 2013 as he looked to revamp an ageing squad of title winners with the attempted additions of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas. An agreement with Toni Kroos was struck, but Moyes was unable to see it through after being dismissed, with Louis van Gaal then pulling the plug.
And yet despite the difficulties Moyes encountered, it was still a United squad of quality. And Mourinho, who was also supposedly on the club's radar back then, seems to feel he could have done a good job with the resources available.
"I don't know [if Moyes' challenge was bigger]. I wouldn't mind to be in a club with great expectations but have Ryan Giggs and Chicharito, [Nemanja] Vidic at the time and [Patrice] Evra - I wouldn't mind," he commented.
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