The Manchester United manager needs the fix that only a string of wins can bring and his frustrating team are not a million miles away from finding that rhythm

José Mourinho always did take the League Cup – typically the lowest priority for managers at elite clubs – more seriously than most of his peers. Yet whether he regards Manchester United’s flourishes of finery as West Ham were swatted aside as a genuine turning point remains tantalisingly difficult to assess. Of course, he watched the game from his secret hiding place, so cameras were not privy to the expressions that might have given some clues as to whether he is convinced his plans for a more balanced, more effective team are belatedly coming together.

Encouraging though it was to see some of the stranger conundrums of the season beginning to stylishly resolve themselves – Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial in particular – the key for Mourinho is to translate some of the positive vibes United are capable of summoning from cup games into the league.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Read more

United’s form has fluctuated joltingly between competitions. At Old Trafford that contrast has been keenly felt. On the one hand, the Europa League and EFL Cup have been the platform for upbeat performances – helping themselves to goals aplenty against Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and West Ham, and the sweet taste of a narrow derby victory over Manchester City. But league successes remain a source of the kind of frustration to make a manager kick out at a poor, unsuspecting water bottle.

The recent sequence of draws is part of a broader picture that goes deeper than this stodgy spell of league travails for Mourinho. Strong, consistent runs of Premier League wins, his staple when he first arrived in England and again during Chelsea’s 2014-15 title, have become painfully elusive.

For a man whose career has been built on a powerful obsession with winning, it is bizarre to see that his Premier League win percentage could not be more average. There have been 34 full-time managers employed in English football’s top division since the start of last season, and Mourinho is currently ranked at No17, exactly halfway down, in terms of regularity of victories. Middle of the road has never been his thing but here he is, slap bang in the land of the nothing special.

The man himself is not shy to remind anyone that he was the champion as recently as 18 months ago. But ever since reclaiming the Premier League title, his win percentage has dropped radically. The fact this takes in spells at two major clubs, with his Chelsea and Manchester United squads embellished with high-calibre talent, makes for a puzzling period in his managerial life. He has overseen only nine wins out of the 29 league games he has presided over during this and the last campaign.

His win percentage of 31.03% falls comfortably below the two highest ranked managers at the moment. Antonio Conte is leading the way at Chelsea with a whopping 76.92%, closely followed by Pep Guardiola. Arsène Wenger, Jürgen Klopp, Claudio Ranieri, Manuel Pellegrini and Louis van Gaal all come in at a win rate of between 50-55% – considerably higher than Mourinho.

Then there are a whole bunch of managers that would not normally be held in the kind of esteem Mourinho is used to, including a few who were turfed out of lesser-profile clubs like Francesco Guidolin and Quique Sánchez Flores.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial impressed against West Ham. Photograph: Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images

It is instructive to look at the teams Mourinho has beaten in the league during this time: Aston Villa and Norwich City (both relegated last season), West Bromwich Albion, Southampton, Bournemouth and this season’s struggling Leicester City (all around mid-table), Hull City and Swansea City (gasping for air at the bottom of the league) and Arsenal (invariably a fixture he could regard as pretty close to a banker). It has been too long since he has emerged triumphant from one of the higher-octane Premier League challenges.

If the crumbling of his Chelsea standing was a shock to the system, it cannot help that he has not immediately been able to bounce back and reclaim some of the winning mentality associated with the bulk of his trophy-laden CV. It allows the critics to begin to wonder if the dip is not necessarily temporary, and for the manager’s own dark mood to simmer. He needs the fix that only a string of wins can bring. What makes it all the more frustrating is the sense that his United team are not a million miles away from finding a clearer rhythm.

A trip to an out-of-sorts Everton on Sunday is next on United’s agenda and it will be fascinating to see the kind of team Mourinho selects. His sparse use of Martial and Mkhitaryan in the attacking department has been bewildering. On their game, as they relished demonstrating with panache in midweek, they possess qualities United have missed badly at times this season.

Was the brio against West Ham, as they combined their quick-thinking artistry to dovetail with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney, the start of something new? Are the shackles falling away? Is the balance and clinical edge the team has been missing sharpening at last?

Flashes of encouragement are one thing. What Mourinho dearly needs is something more substantial and more consistent. Not much less than a needed win at Goodison Park will do.