Jose Mourinho “happy” with Manchester United players

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that he is still “happy” with his players despite seeing them held to a third consecutive Premier League draw this evening.

United’s goalless stalemate at home to Southampton leaves them below Chelsea in the table heading into the New Year, having now failed to win any of their last four games across all competitions.

Mourinho was particularly unhappy with a penalty appeal which was rejected by referee Craig Pawson, but he insists that he was pleased enough with the overall performance of the officials.

“I think it is also a disappointing afternoon for Craig because he’s a fantastic referee, one of the best in Europe,” he told reporters.

“We missed easy chances but I’m really unhappy with the penalty, not with Pawson’s performance – today I think Craig had a good performance, it was a big decision to make from Craig.

“I’m happy with the players’ attitude, the players’ desires and I’m very happy with my place.”

Mourinho also revealed that Ibrahimovic is likely to miss a month of action due to another injury setback