Jose Mourinho told his job is safe but admits there are still problems

Man Utd news: Mourinho's job is safe for now

Jose Mourinho has been backed by two key members of the Manchester United board, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and managing director Richard Arnold.

Woodward told him to ignore "nonsense" speculation that he was going to be sacked regardless of the result against Newcastle, while Arnold interrupted a radio interview Mourinho was conducting after the thrilling 3-2 win to hug him and say "well done".

Mourinho, angered by the club's failure to back his defensive targets in the summer, has also been told by Woodward that the club will back him with funds for reinforcements when the transfer window opens in January.

Woodward is understood to have held meetings with the agents of various potential targets at United's London headquarters on Friday.

The United hierarchy was encouraged by the second-half performance on Saturday when the team stormed back from 2-0 down.

But Mourinho admitted it will not paper over the cracks ahead of a crucial six-game spell after the international break when Untied face fixtures against Chelsea, Juventus twice in the Champions League, and Manchester City.

"We have problems and I am not the one to hide it," he said. "But we can do better and I'm sure that we are going to do better.

"In the biggest clubs in the world there are periods of a lot of meat and there are periods of a lot of bones.

"They [the board] gave me a contract until July 2020. I did not point a pistol at their heads. They gave me the contract because they wanted to give it to me."

Mourinho blamed the intense speculation over his future - he called it a "manhunt" - for United's chaotic start to Saturday's game when they were two down after just 10 minutes and the hesitant performances of youngsters Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay.

"The ones who read the papers, that are connected with social media, they thought maybe I had gone. If I hadn't had a text from my board not to read the papers I would have been convinced too!

"Maybe it was my wrong decision to play Rashford and McTominay. They were not ready for this level of pressure that the manhunting is bringing.

"The boys woke up this morning and they didn't know if I was going to be here or not, because the manhunting influences people and it's not easy.

"For big boys like me it's no problem, but for younger people it's a problem and in the first half they clearly showed that."

Saturday's win was Mourinho's 400th in the Premier League, with Chelsea and United, and gives him the highest win percentage of any Old Trafford boss, fractionally ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Meanwhile, Luke Shaw is a doubt for England after limping away from Old Trafford with a leg injury.