Manchester United were disjointed against Spurs after six changes with the manager no nearer ending the uncertainty

As half-time approached there was a moment that encapsulated the ongoing frustrations of José Mourinho. When Antonio Valencia won a throw-in near halfway Manchester United’s manager urged his team forward only to get tangled with Fred and prevent the Brazilian restarting play quickly.

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Mourinho had called for dynamism yet here he was in an act that summed up a prevailing view that he is the one obstructing the side’s upward evolution.

Before kick-off Mourinho watchers had waited to see if Nemanja Matic would line up as a centre-back and confirm the rumour swirling around Old Trafford. The answer was no, yet a seemingly odder selection was offered up by his placing of Ander Herrera on the right of a defensive three.

This all pointed to an uncertainty that plagues United at present and was compounded by the 3-3-3-1 shape he sent the side out in that was completely new.

The concern was that this would have to work or serious questions would be asked regarding why the supposed arch-strategist had not experimented with the formation – and Herrera selection – before the start of the campaign.

The order of the night for manager and team was simple: victory. While fans would love a win with style this would be a bonus following last week’s desultory reverse at Brighton. It would also lift the mood of a 55-year-old whose summer of discontent started on Day No 1 of pre-season and had him in grumpy mode again before and after this defeat.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest José Mourinho embraces Mauricio Pochettino at full-time. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Tottenham arrived as an opposition who had lost all of their previous outings here under Mauricio Pochettino and whose star player, Harry Kane, had managed one goal in eight league matches – or 645 minutes – against United.

While that came in a 2-1 win at White Hart Lane in May of last year, Mourinho will have been happy to hear the Stretford End sing his name midway through the first half in what was a rare cauldron of noise at the venue. It signalled how the support answered the manager’s call to lift his men and they responded by swarming at Spurs whenever they could.

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Chris Smalling was one of six changes and a sweetly timed tackle on Dele Alli when the England man looked clear on goal was some repayment of his manager’s faith.

The best that could be said about the 3-3-3-1 was that it seemed to scramble Spurs minds until their second-half goal burst. The worst is that it had a similar effect on United, causing a not-surprising disjointedness.

When Fred aimed a shot wide this was a rare stab at Hugo Lloris’s goal.

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From then to half-time United rallied for passages, giving the kind of positive response to the Brighton defeats that was required.

Yet to see Paul Pogba line up on the right was to wonder for the umpteenth time if Mourinho knows Pogba’s best position and whether the Frenchman’s United career will ever achieve lift-off.

This is precisely what Kane did when out-jumping Phil Jones for Spurs’ opener and worst came two minutes later when Herrera played Spurs onside and Lucas Moura scored all too easily.

It was one answer to the question of whether having the Spaniard operate in defence had been prudent from Mourinho and had delirious visiting fans serenading him with: “You’re not special any more.”

This, now, is Mourinho’s challenge: to prove that he is and to make them what they should surely be – true challengers. Whatever the post-match claims about deserving to be 3-0 up at half-time, United appear a long way from the status.