Give Mourinho a gap: Andy Cole
Andy Cole has pleaded with Manchester United fans to give manager Jose Mourinho time to build his own legacy.
The former Manchester United and England footballer joined a long list of sports personalities, golfers and celebrities at the Gary Player Invitational charity golf tournament at the Lost City.
Cole, 45, is presently a fulltime Manchester United global ambassador and also dabbles in some media work as a soccer analyst.
Following disastrous managerial spells under David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and later Ryan Giggs in a caretaker capacity, Mourinho was welcomed to Old Trafford in May 2016 following protracted contract negotiations.
Being the massive global football brand that it is and accustomed to success under Sir Alex Ferguson, the weight of expectation placed on Mourinho's shoulders was always going to be massive.
Cole said it is grossly unfair to expect the fiery Portuguese manager to win the Premier League in his first season and believes that the Red Devils are a work in progress.
He said there is no quick fix and it would be totally counter-productive to keep changing managers and maintains within two to three years, United will be 'back where they should be'.
He pointed out that living in Sir Alex Ferguson's shadow was never going to be easy and to expect instant success after a 25 year period of dominance under Ferguson is nothing more than a pipedream.
But for now, it's all about 'Golf and Giving' as he does his bit to raise money for those less fortunate than himself.
Cole is also a philanthropist in his own right and fronts his own charitable foundation called the "Andy Cole Children's Foundation", which helps aids orphans in Zimbabwe.
"It is a great honour to get an invite here knowing what Mr Player has done and it is a privilege to come and do my little bit as well as enjoying some golf," concluded Cole.