Mourinho: Thank you Wigan!

The Portuguese saw Will Keane and Andreas Pereira fire the goals to seal a 2-0 victory in the hastily-arranged friendly.

And Mourinho was full of compliments after the game - not least to his accommodating hosts.

“It was very good,” the United boss recognised. “Obviously the result was not the most important thing, but we prefer to win than to lose.

“That’s happens in training when we’re playing against each other, and also when we play against opposition.

“But I’m happy, because after 10 days of work I could see things that were working, and the players trying to play my football.

“I could see the players trying to go in the direction I want them to go, and do things I want them to do.

“I know it was against a Championship team, and I know they are in the same training process we are.

“But thank you very much to Wigan, their manager and their players, to give us the training session we needed at this moment.

“And I thought it was unbelievable, and I found for the first time in my career, a friendly match with support that looked like a crucial Premier League match.”

The United fans showed their support for the new man by chanting his name inside the very first minute of a very one-sided contest - not that Mourinho was getting too carried away.

“My reaction is that I would prefer them to go with the players, and with the team,” the ex-Chelsea chief added.

“They are on the pitch, they are the ones that need the support.

“If I could tell them that, I would tell them directly, to support the players.

“But of course it’s nice to feel welcome, and to feel that they are behind the team.”