His team might have won nine games in a row and are on the verge of qualifying for the EFL Cup final after a 2-0 win over Hull City in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg, but Jose Mourinho is not a happy man.

With a huge game against Liverpool looming large, the Portuguese tactician was critical of his players’ performance who struggled to find a way through a resilient Hull City side in the first half. They finally broke ahead just before the hour mark when Juan Mata tapped in from Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s header across the goal before Marouane Fellaini doubled United’s lead three minutes from time.

He also had a word of advice for the Old Trafford faithful before the Liverpool game. The Portuguese tactician urged the fans to raise their decibel levels when Jurgen Klopp’s side visits on Sunday.

Speaking after the match, Mourinho said: “The fans can do better. So my invitation is not to come to the theatre — but come to play with us.

Maybe I didn’t prepare the team right. I didn’t give them enough intensity and we had to change that at half-time.

“Maybe I should pay more attention to the dynamic of the game. So we all have to improve for the match against Liverpool. Today our performance was enough to win — but on Sunday we all have to improve.

“Why celebrate when you have half an hour to play? There is no reason for the celebration with the first goal.

“I think about Sunday and I need to do better, the players need to do better, so, too, the stadium. We have absolutely amazing fans, who push us and get behind us. But I feel Sunday is a special match for us, a special match for the Manchester United fans,” he added.

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the table and will have a chance to close the gap on second-placed Liverpool, who are five points ahead of them.