Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that his side's 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon is likely to harm their confidence.
United slumped to a shock loss at the Amex Stadium, with Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and Pascal Gross all netting first-half goals for the home side.
Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba responded for United - the latter with virtually the last kick of the match - but they came away with nothing to lose early ground on their expected title rivals.
When asked whether it would be difficult to raise the spirits of his team, Mourinho told reporters: "The confidence of the players, I think you are right.
"It's not just the players, I think every person in every job makes a mistake, he's not happy, self esteem goes down a little bit more, confidence levels, that's human nature. If you ask me if my players are, in this moment, happy, I don't think they are.
"I think this game today, if I was in your position (the media), would give me [enough] material to speak about it or to write about it. Don't expect me to speak with you about it because you and your colleagues they were really critical with me in previous seasons [when] I was probably too honest, too open in my analysing.
"Expect from me to be really happy to say after Leicester (a 2-1 win), A, B, C, D, amazing performances, this and that; don't expect me to go in the other direction."
United will look to bounce back from the defeat when they face Tottenham Hotspur next Monday night.
Barney Corkhill
