Jose Mourinho 'Dismayed' by Manchester United Culture and 1st-Team Affairs

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will reportedly conduct an investigation into the club's first-team affairs after being "dismayed" with the culture he's inherited from predecessor Louis van Gaal since arriving at Old Trafford in the summer.

The Times' Matt Hughes (h/t BBC Sport's Simon Stone) reported the state of the medical department has left the tactician particularly disappointed and that other areas garnering his attention include "travel, pre-season tour planning, fitness and sports science."

It's said the Portuguese is also looking to address the "general make-up of his squad," which is unsurprising given the Red Devils sit sixth in the Premier League, eight points off leaders and heated rivals Liverpool.

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United defeated Swansea City 3-1 on Sunday to clinch just their second win in seven league games, after which the manager criticised some of his players for not playing through the pain barrier, per the Guardian's Stuart James.

Sky Sports pundit and ex-United defender Gary Neville questioned if the comments were fair, especially as one of the players believed to be targeted was Luke Shaw, who returned from a broken leg at the start of the season:

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I think Luke is a more complex character. He is young, has moved away from Southampton, and he needs to mature physically and mentally. He is such a huge talent but obviously has had injury problems and is not over them from a mental point of view and he needs to work on that. ...

Jose Mourinho won't either because it will be him or the players that are going to survive and he doesn't work on the theory it will be the players. Jose is looking to make his name at Manchester United and he has to make sure he has the players alongside him he wants.

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According to Hughes, Mourinho is flustered after losing players to injury for a combined total of 33 Premier League games this season, a medical staff fault he hasn't experienced at previous clubs, it would seem. The Sun's Daniel Cutts reported a "mole" inside Old Trafford is also behind some of the manager's frustrations.

ESPN FC's John Brewin concluded Mourinho's tough take on how his club should be run resembles that of one particular Manchester United alumnus, who captained the Red Devils with ironclad resolve: Roy Keane:

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is one of those who has been significantly stunted by injury this term, while captain Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial have also sat out substantial portions of the campaign.

Some might be tempted to jump to the players' defence in this case and blame Mourinho for the club's troubles, but sports writer Liam Canning argued the manager is well within his rights to demand more:

The notion is predecessor Van Gaal left the club in a state that's surprised Mourinho, while David Moyes, the last permanent manager to sit in the United hot seat prior to the Dutchman, may also have left behind some undesirable influences.

Mourinho is still attempting to restore his reputation after a dismal start to the 2015-16 season saw Chelsea axe him last December, and Ball Street pointed to his recent record as poor compared to a certain rival:

Stone pointed out Mourinho's issues at United started early on, when a scheduled pre-season match against Manchester City in Beijing was cancelled because of poor pitch conditions.

Despite spending massive sums in the transfer market and having had time to improve matters, it would seem Mourinho has issue with the foundations laid under him at Old Trafford. Now the question relates to how long it will take to correct them.