I don't think we should sack him at all and would agree we're making progress, but a harsh critic could argue that our wins over Liverpool and Chelsea aren't really massive achievements but what should be expected of us: we've been outspending them as of late and rightfully should be above both in the league. They've both got plenty of quality but also have plenty of glaring weaknesses.
And while I don't advocate sacking Mourinho, plenty of clubs sack managers on a regular basis and do just fine. Chelsea have won more titles than anyone else this decade (if you count 2009/10) and yet they change managers on a regular basis. City will join them on three this year and they've sacked two PL winning managers when it was clear they weren't doing a good enough job. And while the idea of long-term managerial stability is appealing, it's increasingly rare now; most clubs switch managers every few years, and Mourinho doesn't have any history of staying at a club for a sustained period of time. Now again, I agree we shouldn't sack him, and I believe he should be given another season, but most clubs change managers regularly and they generally don't fall apart as a result.
Similarly, we need to stop thinking of progress as this linear, guaranteed thing that'll happen when a manager stays at the club - yes, Mourinho staying could be a mechanism through which we improve due to being stable, but stagnation is also possible. LVG improved us demonstrably in 2014-15 but we sunk backwards after that. Mourinho improved Chelsea significantly between 2013-15 but then had a nightmare of a season.
My problem with Mourinho is that while I rate him as a manager insofar as he clearly knows the game and is able to set up a team well, he's also inherently pragmatic and defensive in a way most top clubs aren't. Look at most of the sides winning the top leagues and they tend to win by simply beating better attacking sides than their opponents as opposed to highly organised defensive units. That's different to when Mourinho first started out. He's capable of improving us, but I'm not sure his defensive strategy will yield success.
So, yeah - I don't think he should be sacked, and I think we're improving, but I also think we need to stop inherently regarding him being here as something that's 'stabilising' no matter what, because stability doesn't always yield success and can lead to stagnation, and because other top sides change managers on a regular basis and get away with it.
)
I love him even more.