Jose Mourinho called on Manchester United fans to up the ante against Liverpool and don’t ‘come to the theatre’… so is the Old Trafford atmosphere really getting worse? 

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He certainly picks his moments, does Jose Mourinho. On Tuesday night, with the EFL Cup final in sight, he saw a window of opportunity to deliver a message.

It was aimed at his Manchester United players, relaying that a similar performance to the one against Hull when Liverpool travel down the East Lancs Road on Sunday will just not do.

But in the same breath came a volley at United's supporters. The Portuguese claimed they, like he and his team, needed to up their game ahead of the weekend.

Jose Mourinho hopes the Manchester United fans create a cacophony of noise this weekend

The Portuguese manager was disappointed with the atmosphere in the EFL Cup semi-final

'Sunday is a special match for us, for United fans,' Mourinho said. 'My invitation is don't come to the theatre, come to play, play with us.'

The inference was not subtle, albeit nowhere close to the pointed criticism he levelled at Chelsea's home support during their last title-winning campaign in 2014-15.

'Playing here at Stamford Bridge is like playing in an empty stadium,' he moaned in the November. 'I can clearly say we are the team to get less support in home matches. I think it's getting worse.

'Chelsea fans show us their passion for this club every day, but there is a certain line of living (way of behaving) at the matches here.'

Mourinho has told fans to 'not come to the theatre, come to play, play with us' against the Reds

The former Chelsea boss wants more from his home fans to help the side in difficult moments

By that Mourinho meant those paying Chelsea's eye-popping prices merely expected to be sat and entertained. Being there that season felt like afternoons down the West End. Catch a show, have a chat, clap when appropriate.

Perhaps that was in his mind when he referenced 'the theatre' after United's semi-final first-leg victory over Hull.

Possibly an unfortunate turn of phrase given Old Trafford's nickname but United's supporters accept Mourinho's argument.

There is an acceptance among those who have turned up for decades that the atmosphere has frayed. A steady decline, certainly. The place can be muted at times.

Mourinho is passionate and determined to bring atmosphere back to Old Trafford this term

Wayne Rooney applauds the supporters after last weekend's 4-0 win over Reading at home

'He wants to get the supporters behind the team - he realises how big this game is and wants every advantage. I can understand that,' Manchester United Supporters' Trust's Ian Stirling said.

'Everybody is aware of football atmospheres generally, because things aren't what they used to be.

'Mourinho's using this as a one off to get an extra 10-15 per cent out of them for this one game.

'It's not just a matter of going there to be entertained, it's to support the team. I've been going since 1973. Some games are great, some aren't.

'It's like that at all grounds and you only remember the good times, don't you? With the electric atmosphere and certain games stick in your mind.

One supporter reads the match day programme ahead of attending the FA Cup third-round tie

'The majority of games in all Premier League grounds probably don't have that electricity (now). There's been a gentrification of football.'

Old Trafford's clientele has certainly been remodelled. More fans than ever before are at Old Trafford as a one-off, or go two or three times a season. It takes away that continuity factor which supporters relish, in essence the chance to strike a bond with those around them. In turn, atmospheres diminish.

Demand dictates that is not United's fault. Nor is it Chelsea's, Liverpool's, Arsenal's or the other stable Premier League clubs. But the growing feeling that you as a supporter are an expendable consumer does lie at their door.

'If you are being treated as a customer by a club and not being valued, then you're going to act like a customer and moan when things aren't going your way,' Stirling added.

'We've seen atmosphere eroded over 10-12 years, especially with big hikes in ticket prices [although season tickets have been frozen since 2011] and at times draconian measures inside the ground; ejecting people for things like persistent standing or being a bit too passionate at times.

Fans are attending Old Trafford more often as a one-off to witness football as a day out

One young supporter takes his seat well ahead of kick-off to watch the warm-up

'It's not about tourists, because United have always had fans from all over the world. But we do want to see traditional supporters included, so it's about accessibility for local people - rather than being priced out. Manchester's not the most affluent of places.'

The general culture of fandom has changed. Stirling spoke about arriving at Old Trafford two-and-a-half hours before kick-off just to squeeze inside as a younger man, standing on the Stretford End bellowing chants during the warm-ups.

Now a resident of the singing section, he hopes the continued talk surrounding safe standing by way of rail seating will help galvanise atmospheres in the years to come, if the Premier League opts to implement it.

'Realistically the singing section has been a failure,' Stirling said. 'It's not really improved the atmosphere there. But there are also various reasons for that, not least the amount of matches.

Mourinho gestures to the crowd for more noise in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg with Hull

The supporters revel in seeing Paul Pogba celebrate a goal in September against Leicester

'We've had our issues, where a lot of our supporters left and with it went the culture. Even in terms of just learning the songs... we used to be far more imaginative and more aggressive with our songbook.

'Now some of the old ones are rehashed. That's not a criticism of anyone because once the culture has eroded it takes a while to get it back.

'I don't think this is unique to United. I think it's more noticeable at United with a larger ground and larger crowd.

'The roof on the North Stand doesn't help, but it sounds like excuses, doesn't it? I don't think there will be any problem with the atmosphere on Sunday.'

Almost one-a-half million passed through the turnstiles at Old Trafford last year, second only to Barcelona across Europe. Mourinho demands his cauldron to sound as if every single one of those is crammed inside come 4pm on Sunday. 

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