Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho stated that he "doesn't care" for his side's 16-game unbeaten record ahead of their trip to Stoke City.

Don't care for it

After a slow start to the campaign, the Reds' run of 16 games without defeat in all competitions has put them right back on track for the top four positions.

There was a slight blip with last Sunday's 1-1 draw with Liverpool, but ahead of the trip to the Bet365 Stadium Mourinho stated that they are not going there to defend their run.

“I don’t care about it," Mourinho told manutd.com. "We are not going to play any match to try to be unbeaten for one more match, or to try to reach 18 or 20, not at all."

"We want to win matches," he stated. "We try to win matches, we risk to win matches."

"If we lose, we lose, and we lose the unbeaten run," the coach stressed. "We are not going to Stoke to defend our unbeaten run."

"It’s a very nice run I have to admit," Mourinho added. "But we are not going there to defend the record."

Wish him the best

The first big departure from Old Trafford was confirmed on Friday with Memphis Depay securing his transfer to France with Lyon.

The Dutchman failed to make an impact in the North West, but Mourinho stated that the 22-year-old had great professionalism and wished him the best for his time on the continent.

"He was a fantastic professional," he said. "If someone thinks it didn’t work because he wasn’t a great professional, that’s totally wrong."

"One thing is some picture that someone takes with him in an amazing car or dressing in a very specific way," the coach stressed. "But the image is totally wrong."

"He’s a kid that respected everyone and worked hard to have more chances," the 53-year-old admitted. "A kid that was frustrated because he was not having that."

"He didn’t succeed in these 18 months," he stated. "But he’s very young."

"It’s important for the club to keep control of this talent," Mourinho concluded. "We wish that he plays very well at Lyon."

Manchester United will take on Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday, January 21 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.