Manchester United made it a perfect start with three wins out of three, with a late win at the KCOM stadium against Hull City giving Jose Mourinho a reason to be optimistic about the season ahead and declaring that their objective is "only one- to be champions".

It has been an encouraging start from United and fans wouldn't be wrong to expect them to challenge for the title, which is exactly what Mourinho aims for with this star-studded team.

Amazing Spirit

Mourinho spoke to MUTV and BTSport after the game at Hull and hailed the fans and the players by saying that "the spirit is amazing".

He appreciated the mental strength of his players, "the boys until the last minute believed" he said. Mourinho spoke about the desire to win and how "you only win if you want to win a lot", adding that, "if you are in a comfortable situation", a point does not seem "so bad".

Mourinho felt sorry for Phelan's Hull after their heroic defending and an outstanding display of desire from their players (Source:reuters)

The boss acknowledged Hull's performance and said that "Of course I feel sorry for Hull". The home side's organised game plan and amazing defending looked like it would do the job against United but the Red Devils kept pressing and got the goal at long last and Mourinho appreciated his players' will to win, "my guys deserved it" he said.

The former Chelsea manager also was highly appreciative of the strong support shown by the travelling group of United supporters at the KCOM arena, and said, "the way the fans supported them, especially in the second half, the fans had that feeling too and knew we were doing everything.".

Mourinho spoke about United's pre-match preparation for Hull and how the team started to think about what it  "could be even before the game started", "We knew the way they defended." said the Portuguese, adding that they knew Tom Huddlestone would play "in a line of three" and  also that "we knew they would be very organised".

Mourinho highlighted importance of  in-game mentality, and that how the opposition can "create problems" by "tactically" changing things and by also trying to " bring situations to the game" and also added how he and his staff "speak about this all the time."

Play to win

One of the first few things that Jose spoke about on his arrival at United was the importance of trying to win every game and while speaking to MUTV and BTSport after the game, he reaffirmed his aim and said that "you have to play to win every game".

So far, United have managed to do just that, three wins out of three and a high level of confidence among the players going into the first international break of the season, they're going to need to stay sharp and fit, because after the break, its the first big game of the season, the Manchester Derby.

Marcus Rashford was ecstatic after helping United to a late win against Hull (Source:mirror)       

The game against Manchester City is their first big test after the Community Shield clash against Leicester City and it will also be a face off and the beginning of another chapter in the Mourinho - Guardiola story, this time in England.

The United manager spoke about United's final finishing position in the league, ""If at the end of the season we finish second, third or fourth it's because someone is better than us". He also added that if United finish fifth or sixth, its because they were "not good enough", which is why he believes that the team has to "play to win every game."

Mourinho isn't one to cover up facts and said that "if we don't win, we don't win". Nevertheless he has praised his players efforts in saying, "he mentality is there and the boys are giving everything". He is amazed by the way everyone in the squad loves celebrating a winning moment, "It's amazing when I look to my side and I see the people on the bench suffering with us and then jumping for the goal". He concluded by saying that its a "privilege" for him to be working with such fantastic players.

Turn back the clock by 4 months and you wouldn't have believed anyone who said that United would challenge for the title. But Jose Mourinho stepped in and changed everything and today, has made this United team something that every Red Devils' fan is massively excited by and a team that should make rivals sit up and be more competitive, because Manchester United are back and their objective is to take back the trophy they've won more times than any other team in English football history and It is going to be a wonderfully exciting journey to the finish line for Jose Mourinho and his 'special' Manchester United side.

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About the author
Ninad Barbadikar
Editor for the Brighton and Hove Albion Office. Contributor to VAVEL UK since July 2016.