I’m not sure any manager since Brian Clough has understood the value of a soundbite as much as Jose Mourinho .
He is the modern-day Cloughie in many ways, with principles rooted in family and close friends – but with a darker side too.
We have seen it many times with the Portuguese, from his face-flicking antics in El Clasico to the 48-hour growth and curled lip when he is in a particularly sneering mood.
But I do not think he would have been anywhere near as successful a manager as he has been had it not been for that edge.
Nobody wins anything by just being a nice guy.
I met Mourinho a couple of weeks ago at the Game4Grenfell and spent some time in his company.
And I have to tell you that he could not have been more different to the public perception of him.
He knew he was the person everybody wanted a piece of that day and that he was the star of the show.
But he showed his human side throughout, and a deference that a lot of people in football simply don’t have these days. Too many big names have their entourages, their ‘Don’t touch me, don’t speak to me, I’ll only answer these questions’, superiority.
It was actually quite refreshing and it was a bit of a window into what he must be like as a manager. Now, I am not trying to compare Martin O’Neill to Mourinho, but, of all my old bosses, he was the closest to the United gaffer.
Martin oozed character and personality in the dressing room, he had that gift that not all managers have – of being able to make every player listen when they talk.
Often, players will just zone out – they will listen to their music or their phones and pretend they are paying attention. But Martin knew how to make his players listen and I would imagine that people hang on Mourinho’s every word as well.
Back in my playing days at Liverpool, we went to Amsterdam to play in a Johan Cruyff tournament and we had a briefing from the great man beforehand about the rules and regulations.
Bear in mind that Liverpool side was made up of me, Robbie Fowler, Neil Ruddock and Steve McManaman, players who, at times, could be like little kids in a classroom.
We would zone out, we would play little pranks and games… but when Cruyff talked, we didn’t.
We sat still and listened intently, taking on board everything he said –and it is only managers with real character and personality who will make you do that.
Mourinho clearly has both in abundance and he is happy to put it all out there because he realises the value of schtick.
The value of playing the pantomime villain and the fact people love it, that we in the media love it as well.
In a day and age where personality is waning, particularly among players, that can only be a good thing.
There is no doubt in my mind that he looked at the value of character in English football before he arrived and realised there was a certain way he needed to portray himself.
He has developed it while he has been in the Premier League and it is no wonder Manchester United are now benefiting from having him on board.
You can see, with the way they have started the season, that they are buying into everything he is saying and it is paying dividends.
They are one of three teams – with Chelsea and Manchester City – who can win the title this season.
And with their brand and cache – and with his experience and personality – United and Mourinho are the perfect bedfellows.
It won’t be long before he takes them back into the position they were in seven or eight years ago under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Another man who knew how to play the public and his players in the ways both needed playing.
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