MANCHESTER -- Jose Mourinho knows how to perform in front of the cameras, no matter what the situation.
Last Wednesday's training ground incident with Paul Pogba -- row, discussion, confrontation ... call it what you will -- was an example of the Manchester United manager knowing exactly where and when to make a point and, as he walked into his Old Trafford press conference ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Valencia, he was at it again.
- Shaw: Mourinho should be sacked by Man United
- Juan Mata cancels his weekly blog
- Mourinho teetering after woeful West Ham loss
"Hello, hello," he said theatrically, as he walked into the room, smiling as he surveyed his audience, attempting to play down any sense of crisis.
Having been beaten so comprehensively at West Ham at the weekend, you would have expected Mourinho to be grumpy and terse, but he was wearing a different mask on this occasion.
However, it didn't take long for it to slip, as it often does where Mourinho is concerned. By the time he had finished, 10 minutes later, he had claimed that some players "care more than others" and admitted he may be "naïve" to think that all of his squad were "honest men."
If Mourinho was attempting to lighten the mood and ease the tension, he didn't make a good job of it.
These are testing times for the 55-year-old. His reign as United manager is following the same path as those at Chelsea (twice) and Real Madrid -- he is lighting fires and seemingly not caring how badly he gets burned.
As at Real and Chelsea, he has engaged in publicly criticising his bosses at the same time as falling out with some of his most high-profile players. Results, as they did at Chelsea, are also deteriorating and the mood around Old Trafford is much darker than Mourinho's entrance suggests it is.
Maybe he thinks he can paper over the cracks and turn the situation around, but sources have told ESPN FC that Mourinho is becoming an increasingly unpopular figure at United, both within the dressing-room and among the club's staff.
Some have spoken of having to "walk on eggshells" around the Portuguese because "you never know what mood he will be in," while others openly talk about wanting him gone in order to banish the grey clouds that seem to reside over Old Trafford.
Mourinho's responses to questions about the commitment of his players hinted at his own realisation that not all of them are fans of his.
"Every player is different, no player is the same," Mourinho said. "I see different actions, but what you see is not really inside. I see upset people, some people that don't look like they lost a game, I see 'so-so.'
"But in the little two sessions of training we have had [since West Ham] everything is normal, desire to work and play. Sometimes what it looks is exactly the opposite. You can be laughing and be the saddest person in the world and you can be a sad face and inside of you, you are very happy."
But do the United players care, Jose? "I think some care more than others," he replied.
Mourinho went on to insist that he doesn't believe his job is on the line and also claimed that the team's worst start to a season in 30 years is a "collective" responsibility and that he not absolved from the blame.
"What I can do to improve things I do," he said. "And I will improve the things that depend on me and my work."
There is no doubt, however, that Mourinho is in a difficult position at United.
His job is not under immediate threat, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward determined to give his manager time to arrest the slump, but results will always dictate the outcome of any managerial reign. Defeats at home to Valencia and Newcastle this week will leave Woodward with a big decision to make.
Woodward does not want to be regarded as an impatient and trigger-happy boss -- he remains scarred by the criticism he received for the way he handled the dismissals of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal -- but he is also not deaf to the whispers swirling around Old Trafford. He knows that his manager is losing support from players and that the supporters are also running out of patience with both the results and style of play.
Mourinho knows that too, which is why he has started to play to the gallery when the cameras are switched on, in an increasingly vain attempt to show that he is in control of an unravelling situation.
Results will decide his fate, but he knows that he has already suffered too many bad ones this season to have much of a cushion left to fall back on.