Mourinho insists he does not fear the sack at United

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho does not believe his job is at risk, despite seeing his side make their worst start to a campaign since 1989-90.

A 3-1 defeat to West Ham at the weekend leaves United nine points behind both Manchester City and Liverpool and with as many defeats on the board as they have wins.

That loss to West Ham comes on the back of a Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Derby and 1-1 draw with Wolves last weekend, while a row between Mourinho and Paul Pogba simmers in the background.

Pogba was replaced early in the second-half at the London Stadium and was stripped of the vice-captaincy at the club last week.

But despite their poor start to the season and the rumours of player unrest Mourinho is confident that he will get times to turn things around at Old Trafford.

At his pre-match media conference for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Valencia, Mourinho was asked if his job was on the line this week ahead of the international break.

The Portuguese said: “No, I don’t think (so).”

He added: “What I can do to improve things I do and I will improve the things that depend on me and my work.”

However, Mourinho refused to disclose whether he had met with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward since Saturday’s defeat.

“That’s a private matter,” Mourinho said. “I’m not asking who you speak to. That’s a private matter.”

The United boss was also asked about the reaction of his players to the loss – and later continued to question the attitude of some members of his squad.

“Every player is different, no player is the same,” Mourinho added.

“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 had (since Saturday) everything (was) normal, desire to work and play.”

Asked if some of his players do not care, Mourinho said: “I think that some care more than others.”

Monday was United’s first open training session since the one last week that made headlines across the world when Pogba and Mourinho were filmed having a tense conversation.

But there were seemingly no such issues in the 15 minutes open to the media at the Aon Training Complex on Monday morning.