Jose Mourinho has used Romelu Lukaku’s goal-scoring exploits to aim a sly dig at his critics, with the Belgian striker continuing to deliver for Roma.
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Belgian striker returned to Italy on loanWorked with Portuguese at Chelsea & Man UtdCoach has no concerns regarding futureWHAT HAPPENED?
The former Chelsea and Manchester United frontman – who worked with Mourinho at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford – made his way to Stadio Olimpico during the summer transfer window on an initial loan agreement.
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Lukaku has found the target on four occasions through six appearances for Roma – with the former Serie A title winner from his days at Inter proving to be a rare bright spark for the Giallorossi through a testing start to the season that has delivered eight points from seven games.
WHAT THEY SAID
Mourinho believes those exploits prove that he still knows what he is doing, as critics are quick to point at him enduring supposed third-season syndrome once again in a prominent coaching post, with the Portuguese telling after seeing Lukaku score in a 2-0 victory over Frosinone: “I thought that I could be held responsible for Lukaku not scoring! At the very least, nobody can accuse me of that, because Romelu keeps scoring. He scores here, he scores at Manchester United, at Inter. Romelu scores everywhere. Fortunately, I am not a coach who can remove Romelu’s qualities.”
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Questions continue to be asked of how long Mourinho will be sticking around at Roma – with a lucrative offer from the Middle East having already been snubbed – but he claims to have the full support of owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin. He added: “You keep talking about future, that is not something I need to worry about, my future is the promise I made until June 30. A coach must respect the club owners and not comment on anything. I am happy for them that we won today, because obviously the owners want to win. I work for them, I work for the Roma fans and I work for the players. When we do well, I am happy.”