Manchester United stars speak out on the situation at the club

Much has been made of Jose Mourinho's pre-season mood. He has looked as sad as if he is steering to dim eternity and has bemoaned the unavailability of his first-team stars. He has also let known his unhappiness at the attitude of various players including Anthony Martial and Antonio Valencia.

As a result, several narratives have cropped up and one of the most interesting ones is something that you wouldn't put past the self-proclaimed 'Special One'.

Mourinho throws tantrums to make sure the spotlight falls on him when his team is underperforming. The advocates of this theory state that this has been a tactic that he has used throughout his managerial career and something that Mesut Ozil talked about in his autobiography.

Anyway, the news that's coming out of the United camp also points in that direction, much to the dismay of detractors.

Two players who have featured extensively in United's pre-season friendlies have come out and backed Jose Mourinho and insisted that all's well in the United camp.

Ander Herrera told SkySports,

"I can speak about what I feel in the dressing room. The manager is very optimistic, he is very happy with the team he has."

"He is happy with us because we are making a great effort in this pre-season, this is all I can say."

"We were second last season. We got an amount of points where we normally would be fighting for the title.

"I think we have very good players. We can fight for every title but if the manager wants to strengthen the team, it is something between him and the club."

Speaking to SkySports, new signing Lee Grant reiterated the same,

"From what we're getting from the inside it [the atmosphere around the camp] has been nothing but positive."

"He's come in even after the Liverpool game and spoken very highly of what we've have given as a team and as a unit."

"The messages we are getting from the manager are positive ones and that is important for us going forward. His attitude and demeanour around the place is great and that is helpful for us especially when we are under-manned and we are working our hardest.

"We are well aware at this stage of the season you have got to work hard and get the minutes into the legs and that is what we are doing."

So it looks like we're all part of yet another Jose Mourinho mind game now. Hopefully, the United boss will cheer up when more of his first-team players return.