Jose Mourinho guarantees Manchester United players specific day off each week

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has given his players a specified day off each week, irrespective of the result in the previous match. This new rule has seen the Portuguese tactician win over his players and it will benefit them in planning how to spend a day off in advance.

The 53-year-old was appointed as the Red Devils manager in May, replacing Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman was sacked just days after he guided United to FA Cup triumph after defeating Crystal Palace in the final.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Mourinho's predecessors, Van Gaal, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson were following a different rule. These managers used to decide against handing a day off to the players, if United had suffered a defeat.

The players were called to Carrington and that would see them not spend time with their family and friends. The new change came into effect when United suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the derby clash on 10 September.

United started the season with three wins in the first three matches and their loss to Pep Guardiola's side was their first defeat of this campaign. Despite the result at the Manchester derby, the Red Devils boss handed his players a day off, which has pleased senior players in the squad.

Mourinho believes calling his players for an unscheduled training will only make the situation worse as he remains confident that his men are bound to take defeats badly. The 20-time English champions have made four new additions to the squad in the recently concluded summer transfer window.

Paul Pogba rejoined United for a world-record fee of £89m ($117.5m) in August and the inclusion of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has changed the mood in the dressing room, which has become "more bullish".