United now have to stick by Special One – Neville

GARY Neville believes United must ‘batten down the hatches’ and back Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese has come under intense scrutiny after his side fell to a second successive defeat in the Premier League.

With just three points from the opening three games, it is their worst start to a new season since the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992.

However, despite the dire start, Neville (right) believes Mourinho must see out the contract extension he signed in January and stay at the club until at least 2020.

“We saw Louis van Gaal sacked after an FA Cup final victory, we saw David Moyes sacked with four games to go of a season,” said the Reds legend. “So we are no longer talking about a football club that is behaving as it has historically done.

“I accept these are different times and I accept the difficulties and challenges.

“But my honest view is that Ed Woodward gave him a contract last season, only seven or eight months ago, and he should see that contract through to the end and do the job.

“You can’t keep jumping around with managers. I hear the third-year Mourinho stories and all the rest of it and you can’t disagree with those stories because there is some history.

“But what I would say is it’s time now for Manchester United to batten down the hatches and for Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward to sort themselves out if there is a problem there.”