Jose Mourinho says Manchester United 'Will Succeed Sooner Or Later'

Jose Mourinho says struggling Manchester United "will succeed sooner or later" as the Fenerbahce boss prepares to take on his former club in the Europa League on Thursday. United manager Erik ten Hag is under pressure after a poor start to the season, which has included draws in their first two European matches -- against Twente and Porto. But Mourinho, who has also managed a string of other high-profile clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham, said United had potential and he wants them to succeed. "Maybe you English guys think I'm bluffing, think I am playing mind games," he said at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "I'm not playing anything -- they have a better team than the results are showing.

"I studied them the maximum I could with my staff and my analysts. We watched everything in the Premier League, we watched everything in the two matches, Twente and Porto -- there is work there.

"They will succeed sooner or later. Hopefully sooner and hopefully before one day I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponents. 

"At this moment they are just my opponents for one match."

Mourinho, who managed United between 2016 and 2018, winning the League Cup and Europa League, was asked why his former club had struggled over the past decade.

"Honestly, I didn't lose one minute thinking about it," he said. "I wish the best to Man Utd since the moment I left.

"I left with a good feeling for the club, with a good feeling for the fans and I want the best for them, so if things are not going amazingly well for them it's not something that makes me happy, but at the same time I have no time."

The 61-year-old suggested that during his own reign at Old Trafford, the United hierarchy had not had the