Jose Mourinho Reportedly Has 'Full Backing' of Manchester United Board

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho reportedly has the club's "full backing" after their 3-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.

According to the Guardian's Jamie Jackson, "the board remain behind" Mourinho despite United's poor result, which came after they scraped past Leicester City 2-1 on the opening day of the season.

Per Oddschecker, bookmakers have the 55-year-old as the most likely top-flight boss to vacate his position first this season, ahead of Newcastle United's Rafael Benitez and Leicester's Claude Puel.

Mourinho spent much of the summer criticising United's inability to deliver his transfer targets. Their failure to do so appears to be particularly damaging given the context of their pre-season, in which the coach was without many of his first-team stars because of their involvement at the FIFA World Cup.

Alexis Sanchez—who was one of the few major players available throughout pre-season—was missing through injury against Brighton, while Mourinho is still waiting for Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia to return to action after their own fitness problems.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News believes United's board did not back the manager where it matters—the transfer market:

They have done overall during his tenure, though, as football writer Tom McDermott noted, while Football365's Daniel Storey believes Mourinho should still be doing better even after the difficult summer:

While the club's transfer business could have been much better—the team is still crying out for a new right-winger and an experienced central defender among other areas in need of strengthening—their biggest problem is their failure to get the best out of those available.

It has been a recurring problem since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but it has been most notable under Mourinho given the array of talent available to him, and he bears the brunt of the responsibility for that.

United have the chance to address some issues when the transfer window reopens in January, but the biggest factor in their success this season will be Mourinho's ability to coax the best out of the likes of Sanchez, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and others on a weekly basis.

If his struggles in that department continue, it's difficult to see him remaining at Old Trafford in the long-term.