West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Pardew has claimed that Manchester United counterpart Jose Mourinho is more accomplished at winning trophies than any other manager in world football.
Mourinho's style of football has drawn criticism for being too negative at times during his Old Trafford reign, but he steered United to the EFL Cup, Europa League and Community Shield in his first season at the club.
Pardew's side host the Red Devils at The Hawthorns on Sunday looking to put another dent in their fading title hopes, but the new Baggies boss was full of praise for his opposite number ahead of the meeting.
"Jose and myself would love to win a game 4-0 playing flamboyant football. You can't do that, you just have to find a way to win sometimes, and that's the thing he does better than anyone else, including Pep (Guardiola), he wins more trophies. He gets a lot of criticism which I think is unfounded," he told reporters.
"You get to the Community Shield by winning the Premier League or FA Cup. Then that's another trophy. I don't understand why people don't think it's a trophy. His targets and what he does are about winning. Simple as that. As managers of course, particularly if you're manager of Manchester United, you're going to get criticised. Sir Alex Ferguson got criticised and went through periods where fans were baying for him.
"It comes with the territory and Jose's strong enough and big enough to win trophies, which I'm sure he's going to do. There's always been two sides to winning football matches, defensive discipline and offensive prowess. You have to get the balance right.
"There are times people would like Jose to be more offensive, but you look at United's defensive record - it's pretty good. It's about personnel and having the right criteria. I am of the opinion there's beauty in the game at both ends of the pitch."
West Brom go into Sunday's match without a win in their last 15 Premier League games stretching back to August.
Barney Corkhill
