Jose Mourinho is currently the bookmakers’ favourite - yes, favourite - to become the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.Why? Well, because pre-season has been a bit of a nightmare for the Manchester United boss so far.Mourinho is at loggerheads with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward over potential new signings, his team have looked desperately poor in their first four pre-season friendlies, and latest reports claim the Red Devils’ squad feel uncomfortable in his presence right now.The Portuguese coach’s demeanour on the US tour has been anything but positive and his comments about the upcoming season have been worryingly negative.Mourinho is now entering his third season with United - and this is another reason why many football fans are predicting the 55-year-old’s tenure at Old Trafford will soon come to an abrupt end.He has never lasted more than three seasons at any of his clubs before. Could history be about to repeat itself over the coming months?The majority of United fans are hoping Mourinho can turn the situation around and inspire the club to glory this season, but his eyebrow-raising comments after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to fierce rivals Liverpool in Michigan led to criticism.

Mourinho criticised for comments involving youngsters

"Do you want me to be very happy with the players [Alexis Sanchez] has around him?” he asked reporters. “We are not playing here to improve the team, the dynamic or our routines. We are playing just to try to survive and not have some ugly results. Alexis is the only attacking player that we have.

"We don't have wingers, we don't have strikers. He is the only one who is here and the poor man is trying his best with the frustration of somebody who wants more. This is not our team, this is not our squad - not even 30 per cent of it.

"We start the game with almost half the players who are not even going to belong to our squad on August 9 [transfer deadline day]."

This was hardly the ideal way to encourage the club’s younger players who featured against Jurgen Klopp’s side, including the likes of Demetri Mitchell, Tahith Chong and Ro-Shaun Williams.

Mourinho’s comments were subsequently compared by football fans to the recent praise Pep Guardiola gave to the young players in his Manchester City squad.

"You cannot imagine how much I have enjoyed these two weeks with these guys,” the Catalan coach purred. “The young guys have desire."

Adam Gemili tweets about his experience of Mourinho

However, amid all of the talk that Mourinho doesn’t care about young players, British sprinter Adam Gemeli has posted a rather interesting tweet.

The 24-year-old spent eight years in Chelsea’s academy before becoming a professional athlete and he saw enough from Mourinho during that time to convince him that the Portuguese tactician *does* care about young footballers.

“I spent 8 years at Chelsea’s academy while Mourinho was manager,” he tweeted, “and he would always make an effort to come and watch every academy team in training or matches. Seemed like he cared to me.”

He was responding to this tweet...

There’s been plenty of reaction to Gemili’s tweet, which might make people think twice before criticising Mourinho and his supposed dislike of young players.