Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho hits back at critics following poor run of form

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at his critics, saying the football world is "full of Einsteins". The Portuguese boss recently lost three games in succession – but said critics have been much too quick to write him off as a manager.

United ended their poor run of form with a 3-1 victory against Northampton Town in the EFL Cup on Wednesday (21 September). Mourinho subsequently admitted to being disappointed by United's recent results, but insisted those setbacks should not mask his career achievements, which include winning league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.

"I can understand clearly the disappointment. If the fans have been disappointed with the last week, I understand completely but I am sure they will be behind the team like they always are," he told United's in-house TV station MUTV, according to the Manchester Evening News.

"We had a bad week. I know that the world is full of [Albert] Einsteins, I know that they tried to delete 16 years of my career, they tried to delete an unbelievable history of Manchester United football club and to focus on a bad week with three bad results. But that's the new football, it's full of Einsteins."

A much-changed United side secured victory against Northampton thanks to goals from Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marcus Rashford, who was introduced as a second-half substitute. Subsequently, United were drawn against Manchester City in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.