Manchester United chief Ed Woodward breaks silence on difficult season: 'Jose Mourinho and squad fully united'

Ed Woodward has spoken for the first time about Manchester United’s troubled start to the season – insisting Jose Mourinho and his players are ‘fully united’ in their bid to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Privately Woodward has offered his full support to Mourinho amid fevered speculation about the United manager’s future.

But addressing investors on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the club’s executive vice chairman delivered a cryptic assessment of United’s campaign – which he described as ‘mixed.'Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City effectively ended Mourinho’s feint hopes of winning the Premier League title in his third year at Old Trafford and left him in a battle to secure a top four finish.

That leaves the Champions League and the FA Cup as the only pieces of silverware left to play for this season.

Woodward said: “On the pitch, we remain well positioned in the Champions League, and although we have had a mixed start to our domestic campaign, the squad and the manager are fully united in their determination to regain our momentum in the Premier League.”

United are six points worse off than they were at the same stage last season and 12 points adrift of reigning champions and leaders City.

They’ve lost four times in the league already and were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Championship Derby.

A recent turnaround in form has eased the pressure on Mourinho – particularly with qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League in United’s own hands.

It has also been noted within the club that talk of him losing the dressing room has abated in recent weeks as players have shown their commitment with a series of dramatic comeback wins.

Mourinho’s fate is likely to be determined by United’s bid to secure a top four finish.

He wants Woodward to aid him in that pursuit by providing funds to strengthen in January, with a top class centre back his priority.

Despite United’s latest financial results showing drops in commercial and matchday revenues, as well as operating profit, Woodward insists the money is still there to land the world’s best players.

“Our financial strength enables us to continue to attract and retain top players and to invest in our academy, as we look to drive the success on the pitch that the club and our fans expect,” he said.