Woodward backs maligned Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has been given a vote of confidence by Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who appears to be fully behind the Portuguese coach despite a poor start to the season.

Following Saturday's 1-1 draw with promoted Wolves, United sit seventh in the Premier League having picked up 10 points from six matches.

Even in their three victories over Leicester City, Burnley and Watford, United have rarely looked convincing and some attacking players – such as Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez – have appeared out of sorts. Yet, despite United's indifferent form and fans' divided opinion on Mourinho, Woodward and the club's hierarchy are seemingly unwavering in their support.

Speaking on a conference call to investors following the publishing of United's financial results, Woodward said: "As it's easy to get caught up in the game-by-game fluctuations of our season, or even the relatively minor pieces of business and industry news, I would like to take this opportunity to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

"We're the biggest sports team in the world, as measured by number of fans, and we know that's a position that requires continued effort and investment to maintain.

"Our board, our investors and everyone at the club are aligned with the fans on what we need to do on the pitch and that is to win trophies. That's one of the reasons we hired Jose Mourinho, and we've already won three [trophies] with him."

Those three pieces of silverware – the Europa League, Community Shied and EFL Cup – were all lifted during the 2016-17 campaign, before United's failure to win anything last term. But Woodward insists Mourinho will be the man to deliver further glory.

"Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United's 66 and Jose's 25 trophies," he said in United's press release. "That is what our passionate fans and our history demands. 

"We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club."