Jones believes Red Devils channeling Mourinho’s spirit

They say a team’s personality is a reflection of their manager and Phil Jones certainly believes Jose Mourinho’s fighting spirit is rubbing off on the Manchester United squad.

United played four games in a ten-day spell that thoroughly examined depth of their squad, culminating in last Sunday’s clash with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

The Red Devils dug deep to beat Boro 3-1, despite their hosts threatening to produce a late comeback.

And defender Jones believes the side channelled their feisty manager Mourinho to prove any doubters wrong.

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“There is strength in depth in the squad and it showed,” he said. “It’s good to go into the international break with a win and we are up to fifth [in the table] now.

“It shows the fight in the squad, not literally, but it shows we are prepared to fight for each other. You can’t buy that. It is in everyone. It rubs off on us from the manager.

“It is all about a willingness to win and fight for each other. Whatever formation we play or the tactics we play, ultimately it is about the fight in every player and we are showing that at the moment.

“You can see, this season, we have had times when we’ve had to dig deep; there is a lot of fight in that dressing room and it is positive.”