Jose Mourinho, after Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Malaga on Sunday night, talked about how it is the players' job to make his life, his decision-making more difficult.
He did not explicitly say that after the game, but he was asked about players not starting by the media, and his response is actually the most healthy way to look at things from a manager's standpoint.
He said: “It’s a difficult mission, not a one-month thing, but a season-long one. The frustration of those who aren’t playing is something that’s more in the players’ hands than in mine.
"I can show that I trust them all. They have to manage it themselves. Today, Trent and Cucurella played, and Carreras and Dumfries didn’t…”
This is the best approach to managing a team like Real Madrid
If Real Madrid players are going to be frustrated with not having minutes and have it impact them negatively, it will make Mourinho's decision very easy. He would then just pick the players who show that they really want to have their position on the pitch in every single game.
He will pick those who have that ambition to play every single match for Real Madrid. Mourinho has made it clear in so many different games that if a player causes trouble or shows his frustration in a negative way about not starting a game, then it will make his job very easy to then not include them in the next game.
He would know that the mentality that he wants to instill in the squad is not there in that player. Obviously, it has not happened yet, and hopefully it never happens.
Hopefully, every single player that Real Madrid have keeps playing at a high level despite their minutes on the pitch. That is the only way to make Mourinho happy as a manager and to be in his good books.
And it also helps the club in general if every single player has a chip on their shoulder and performs in a very competitive but friendly way. That is exactly what Real Madrid need to have in this squad.
Last season, there were too many players who were very comfortable with the minutes that they had on the pitch, and the ones who were not playing had something to say about that.
Now it just wouldn't work that way with Mourinho, which is one of the best things about the club bringing him in. It now depends on the players - whether they want to be in Mourinho's good books, or if they want to whine about not getting minutes and then not get minutes either way.
It will be exciting to see how everything unfolds, and to be very honest, so far it looks pretty good.
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