Jose Mourinho ‘under pressure’ at Fenerbahce but Rangers tie secondary to bitter Galatasaray battle

Jose Mourinho ‘under pressure’ at Fenerbahce but Rangers tie secondary to bitter Galatasaray battle

When Fenerbahce appointed Rangers’ Europa League rival Jose Mourinho, the club’s president was clear this ambitious project had years in mind.

 

Ali Koc is an outspoken figure in Turkish football and has given Jose Mourinho his full backing despite what has proven a challenging campaign to date.

 

 

As quoted by Goal, Koc insists Fenerbahce will stick with Mourinho for ‘as long as they live’ with ‘the issue of stability very important’.

 

That’s even if Fenerbahce don’t end a 10-year wait for a Super Lig title this season.

 

José Mourinho: “I want to help Turkish football improve, but my priority is not Turkish football, it’s Fenerbahce.”

 

“From the moment I signed the contract, your dreams are now my dreams.” pic.twitter.com/Dx1TtNtzS3

 

— IM🇵🇹 (@Iconic_Mourinho) June 2, 2024

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“Whether we are there or not, Jose Mourinho must continue in his duty,” said Koc.

 

“You said ‘If you cannot be champions’, we will continue on the path we believe in.

 

“As far as the coach is concerned, we will continue with the coach as long as we live. This issue of stability is very important. The man we brought has quality.”

 

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So it looks like there is no chance of Jose Mourinho taking the reins at Rangers come the end of the season then.

 

With Rangers giving Fenerbahce a bloody nose, it’s all eyes on Ibrox for the Europa League return with the Turks having to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

 

Despite the disparity in the cost of the Fenerbahce and Rangers squads, the Gers put up a heroic counter-attacking display to take an advantage to Glasgow.

 

Mourinho has urged the Gers not to celebrate too hard with the second leg to come in a matter of days.

 

But just how big a deal will it be for Mourinho if Fenerbahce fail to turn things around against Rangers?

 

READ MORE: Five Rangers sporting director candidates including Ibrox Hall of Famer

Photo by Huseyin Yavuz/ dia images via Getty Imagez

Photo by Huseyin Yavuz/ dia images via Getty Imagez

Fenerbahce focused on Turkish Super Lig

Egeman Cidar is a sports journalist with Milliyet Newspaper in Turkey and has been speaking to Rangers News about the situation with Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce.

 

That very loud backing from Ali Koc is fresh in the memory, but Fenerbahce and Mourinho have not been without controversies on and off the pitch this season.

 

On the park, Jose remains locked in a tight title battle with fierce city rivals Galatasaray, who have a seven point advantage at the top of the division. Fenerbahce have a game in hand and are still very much in the fight.

 

According to Cidar, who congratulated Rangers for their stunning victory in Istanbul, it’s the Super Lig and not the Europa League which is the Turkish club’s main focus this season.

 

💬 “Jose, what went wrong for your side tonight?”

 

💬 “Everything.”

 

An honest assessment from Jose Mourinho on Fenerbahçe’s loss against Rangers 📉

 

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/JPHGn5aibR

 

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 6, 2025

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“Fenerbahce’s most important agenda at the moment is the Turkish League title and they are in second place behind their closest rival Galatasaray,” said Cidar.

 

”If the points difference with Galatasaray widens, the Europa League will be even more important.

 

“At the same time, the defeat to Rangers was not expected when Fenerbahçe was in such good form. Rangers did a great job to beat Fenerbahce away from home.”

 

Things are strikingly different at Ibrox.

 

Rangers, who’ve had a disastrous domestic campaign, are pretty much free to focus on Europe.

 

Jose Mourinho ‘loved’ by Fenerbahce fans

Whilst Mourinho is only nine months into his job in Turkey, pressure is synonymous with the country’s fanatical support and intense media coverage.

 

Even the Special One – with all the coverage he has brought to Turkish football – is not immune from the pressures of life in Istanbul, even with the majority of Fenerbahce’s support right behind him.

 

“When he first arrived, the fans were very happy, he was on the agenda for a long time in the media and still continues to be,” explains Cidar.

 

”When he first arrived, he was criticised a lot until Fenerbahce’s game settled down.

 

“However, even if Fenerbahce does not become champion, Mourinho is expected to continue next season.

 

“Fenerbahce President Ali Koc also said this. From this point of view, there is no great pressure for Mourinho to continue his duty, the majority of the fans love him.”

 

Photo by Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Photo by Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

But don’t let the current sentiment amongst the Fenerbahce support lull you into a false sense of security when it comes to Mourinho’s position.

 

Cidar explains that with a first Super Lig title since 2014 in the sights of Fenerbahce fans, a failure to deliver either this season or the next will likely have the Turks sharpening their yatagans.

 

Whilst there Mourinho has plenty of credit in the bank, the manager is ‘under pressure’ to deliver.

 

“Fenerbahce has a 10-year longing for the Turkish League title, so the first target is to be champion in the league,” said Cidar.

 

“President Ali Koc and Jose Mourinho are under pressure for this. So yes, Fenerbahce’s priority is the Turkish League title.”

 

Galatasaray dispute is no Fenerbahce v Rangers distraction

With the Turkish Super Lig still very much in Fenerbahce’s sights, you could be mistaken for thinking they’ll take their eye off the ball against Rangers.

 

Barry Ferguson reckons Fenerbahce are amongst the tournament favourites and winning the trophy comes with a multitude of benefits, not least the prestige of having done so.

 

But back on home soil, and in typical Jose Mourinho style, Fenerbahce are embroiled in a number of controversies involving title rivals Galatasaray.

 

First, the Turkish FA drafted in the help of a Slovenian referee to officiate a recent Intercontinental Derby after Mourinho had described the state of refereeing in the country as ‘toxic’.

 

Photo by ANP via Getty Images

Photo by ANP via Getty Images

Adana Demirspor walked off the pitch in February in protest of a penalty kick decision that was given in Galatasaray’s favour.

 

Slavko Vincic became the first foreign referee since the 1970s to take charge of a Turkish match and would’ve been grateful for the 0-0 draw which transpired.

 

Cidar describes refereeing as a ‘hotly debated issue’ in Turkey – which sounds familiar – with the situation turning increasingly sour when Mourinho was accused of racism by Galatasaray at full-time.

 

The Portuguese manager, who refutes the claims absolutely, was also given a four-match ban for comments made about the referees after the game (Sky Sports).

 

The appeal and ban have since been halved but Mourinho accused Galatasaray of ‘attacking’ him in a recent interview with Sky Sports.

 

“They were not clever in the way they attacked me”

 

Jose Mourinho speaks for the first time about the racism claims made against him by Galatasaray. pic.twitter.com/4xRfuL5wRO

 

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 6, 2025

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You’ll forgive Rangers fans for feeling like the chaos of Fenerbahce’s domestic struggles might just serve as a distraction in Europe.

 

Combine that with Mourinho being expected to focus on the Super Lig and suddenly the conditions seem optimum for the upset that happened in Istanbul, coincidentally Fenerbahce’s first defeat in 18 games.

 

But according to Cidar that will not be the case in Glasgow, even if off-field struggles have had a sizeable impact on Fenerbahce in the past.

 

“After the derby, Mourinho’s remarks about the Galatasaray bench in the press conference became an agenda almost all over the world,” said Cidar.

 

”The referee issue and the conflicts with Galatasaray are very much on Fenerbahce’s agenda, but I don’t think it will affect Fenerbahce much in Europe at the moment, but last season off-field struggles had a bad effect on Fenerbahce in the Turkish League.”

 

Rangers hold a 3-1 lead over Fenerbahce following the first-leg of the Europa League Round of 16 tie, with the second leg at Ibrox scheduled for Thursday 13th March at 8pm GMT.

 

With Rangers having one leg in the Quarter Finals, Ibrox fans might also be cheering for AS Roma as the Italians take on Athletic Bilbao in Spain.