Manchester United defender Phil Jones urges squad to stick together amid rumours Jose Mourinho has lost the dressing room
United beat Everton to go back to second but Mourinho has cut a miserable figure in recent weeks
MANCHESTER UNITED defender Phil Jones has said the squad must stick together and back their manager during this tricky spell.
Jose Mourinho's team finally won for the first time in five games with a 2-0 win over Everton, while the manager has cut a miserable figure in recent weeks.
There have been reports that the Portuguese boss' demeanour and moans have caused a split in the dressing room.
The Manchester derby all but ended United's title hopes, and they were briefly overtaken by Chelsea at the weekend.
With Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial the only fit strikers in the squad after injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the squad could now be looking over their shoulder at the chasing pack.
Liverpool are only three points away in fourth, with Arsenal a further three points back and Tottenham a point off them.
Latest Man Utd news
Jones said: ""It's obvious if you look at the table. But we have to concentrate on ourselves. It sounds so cliched but we need to look after each other and stick together, which is what we will do and keep going and keep battling.
"It's frustrating for us, frustrating for the fans of course and everyone involved but there's no point sitting here and sulking about it.
"It's difficult, we're going through a patch where we're picking up a few draws and not winning games like we should be but we'll get there.
"In another few weeks' time we might be standing here saying we're in a very controlled position again but we've got to make sure we do that rather than just say it."
MOST READ IN FOOTBALL
He added: "We have got to win games.
"It's not as if we're not creating the chances but unfortunately at the moment we can't put them away.
"One hundred per cent we have to take the chances. There's no two ways about it."
Jones also said the post-match boos by some fans at Old Trafford were nothing much to read into.
"That could have been for the referee - the handball," the 25-year-old said.