Phil Jones says Man Utd's players are all behind boss Jose Mourinho

By Rob Palmer and Richard Morgan

Friday 2 December 2016 23:26, UK

Manchester United's players are all fighting for manager Jose Mourinho as he looks to turn around the club's fortunes, according to defender Phil Jones.

United travel to Everton on Nissan Super Sunday lying sixth in the table having made their worst start to a Premier League season.

However, United will arrive at Goodison Park full of confidence having not lost in the league since going down 4-0 at Chelsea on October 23, a recent upturn in form which Jones has credited to the "passionate" Portuguese.

"He is great, passionate, honest and his passion rubs off on the players and you can see that out on the pitch," he said in an exclusive interview with Soccer Saturday.

"All the players fight for him and it is a great feeling at the moment. He is what he is and that is why he is great. Like he is with you, he is like that with us.

"That is all you can ask, for a manager to be honest and tell you how things are. If you need telling, you need telling and he has done that for every player and you can see that out on the pitch.

"He has brought a resilience, he wants to defend properly, but he also wants to attack in a free-flowing way. And I think you can see that at the moment, the chances are coming and we just need to put them away.

"Those draws against Burnley, Stoke and Arsenal have not stalled us, but we needed to turn those into wins. All three goalkeepers had worldy games.

"We are playing free-flowing football and getting into great positions and we just need to finish teams off sooner."

Mourinho has hailed the importance of Jones' presence in United's back four following injuries to both Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly, with the team's unbeaten run of late coinciding with the central defender's own return to the starting line-up five games ago.

"It is great doing what you love doing, being out there in front of the fans, your family being able to come and watch you again is great," Jones said.

"You always get that buzz, that feeling of shivers down the back of your neck every time you walk out at Old Trafford or anywhere. It is nice to be playing and involved. I hope that can continue!"

Unavailable for Mourinho's first 16 games in charge, the England international's experience at the back has been vital in recent weeks.

At 24 and having been a United player for more than five years, Jones is accustomed to life at Old Trafford.

"I think the young and up-and-coming tag has left me now," he said. "I can't use that as any excuse anymore, not that I would use any excuse. I need to keep maturing and learning quickly because it is a tough game."

As for the team itself, Jones has called for patience as United's summer recruits adjust to life in the Premier League.

"This [the team] is a work in progress, there are still players settling in," he said. "But I think, especially round the Christmas period, that this is where we all need to stick together, show character and strength to win the games around Christmas, because that sets your stall out for the rest of the season."

Starting with Sunday afternoon's trip to Merseyside, although Jones has warned his team-mates to expect a tough examination against the Toffees, who sit just a point and a place behind United heading into the clash.

"It is always a tough game over there, they are passionate fans, it is a real tight ground and we have always found it difficult there," he said. "Last season it was probably our best away performance of the season and we beat them 3-0."

Watch Phil Jones' interview in full on Soccer Saturday from 12pm

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