Brighton boss Chris Hughton defends Man Utd's Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is one of the best managers in the Premier League, according to Brighton's Chris Hughton.

The Manchester United boss has been the subject of much scrutiny due to his pre-season rants on a wide range of subjects - including the World Cup, the absence of Anthony Martial and a lack of new signings.

More recently, there have been reports of a big-bust up between Mourinho and midfielder Paul Pogba, but Hughton has spoken out in defence of his fellow Premier League manager.

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"He is one of our best managers, if you look at the record he has of winning things," the Brighton boss said.

"I think when you are that type of manager you are going to be in the spotlight far more than others and everything is going to be picked up."

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Brighton host United at the Amex on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, and Hughton says their opponents have a "different style" to other teams in the top six.

The Seagulls defeated United 1-0 at home last season to secure their top-flight status with Pascal Gross' header claiming all three points.

"I think they [Manchester United] have a different style to other teams in the top six. What they do have is a team which is packed with quality, hence why they win so many games," said Hughton.

"It is up to them in the manner they choose to do that. It's just one of those circumstances where we performed well in our games against them last season. We will need to get to those levels again.

"We made a very good account of ourselves [in the 1-0 win] against a United side who didn't perform on the day."

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Bruno, Florin Andone and Jose Izquierdo are unavailable for Sunday's game, while Martin Montoya is in contention and Hughton admits he may ring the changes following last week's 2-0 defeat to Watford.

"We were very disappointed with the performance last week," he added.

"We can win or lose anywhere, particularly away from home, and we didn't expect a comfortable game. If you lose in a manner you can accept, that's okay, but the performance was not at a level we expected.

"I need to make decisions on the changes I need to make. It's a bad start for us. We need a reaction."

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