Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough: Jose Mourinho's Pre-Match Presser Quotes

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he's struggling to recall the last time his side played poorly ahead of their final match of 2016.

The United boss was addressing the media on Friday before the Premier League clash with Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Saturday. Heading into this one, Mourinho's men have found their form, winning their last four Premier League matches, and it's clear the boss is enjoying the style with which they're operating.

"It is difficult for me to remember the last match where we didn't play well, even when we weren't getting results," Mourinho said, per Joe Mewis of the Daily Mirror. "In the last four Premier League matches we managed to win, and we need points so let's try to do it tomorrow at Old Trafford in front of our fans."

It's a game that United will be expected to win, although they will have to do so without a couple of key players.

Per the club's Twitter feed, captain Wayne Rooney is out, while Luke Shaw is a major doubt:

In Boro boss Aitor Karanka, Mourinho will also be coming up against a coach who knows him well; Karanka was the Portuguese's assistant during his time at Real Madrid and someone the United boss described as a "real friend."

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He also revealed the duo will socialise before the game, not afterwards, because one of them will have a "bad face." As noted by Chris Winterburn of Metro, Mourinho said it's rare the pair aren't on the same page:

With the new year a couple of days away, talk naturally turned to the January transfer window. And following news that Anthony Martial has received an offer from Sevilla to join on loan, as his agent told ABC de Sevilla (h/t ESPN FC's Ian Holyman), Mourinho said only one player—goalkeeper Sam Johnstone—would be heading out of Old Trafford on a temporary basis.

Here's a listen to what Mourinho said about the 23-year-old goalkeeper and the club's strategy in the January market:

Indeed, Mourinho admitted permanent transfers are a different matter and suggested they have yet to accept any offers for any of their stars.

"As I said before, if a player is not having lots of minutes, and if a player really wants to leave, we have no right to stop the player to leave, if the conditions are our conditions," he said, per Mewis, noting West Bromwich Albion's £13 million bid for Morgan Schneiderlin has been rejected. "And until this moment, we have not received one single offer that we are going to accept."

The United chief was also asked about the lavish lure of the Chinese Super League, with one of his former players at Chelsea, Oscar, set to join Shanghai SIPG for around £60 million.

"My opinions is that everyone is free to choose his life, I am nobody to criticise anyone," he said. "Everyone knows what their priorities are."

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Mourinho will be desperate to see his players continue their recent positive form, and while the Red Devils had previously been written off by plenty early on in the campaign, suddenly the team look capable of challenging for a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Boro have done a decent job against some of the division's illustrious sides, securing draws at both Arsenal and Manchester City. It means United may have to be patient in their approach, although there's enough quality at Mourinho's disposal and enough confidence in the group for the Red Devils to secure three points.