Paul Pogba appreciates Jose Mourinho for helping him 'improve as a person'

Manchester United midfielder and world cup winner, Paul Pogba has thanked former boss Jose Mourinho for helping him "improve as a person".

Jose Mourinho was sacked on Tuesday after two and a half years reign as Red Devils manager, with several reports his relationship with Pogba was problematic. 

Pogba was an integral part of the United side that won the League Cup and Europa League during Mourinho's first season. 

"We won trophies with Jose and I want to thank him for that," he said. "He makes me improve, as a person as well, and that's it. That's the past, I want to thank him for that. I'm sure that is the same for all the players and now we are looking forward to the next game."

The 25-year-old was speaking after United's 5-1 thumping of Cardiff in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first match as interim coach. 

That took United sixth in the Premier League, eight points adrift of the top four.

They finished second last season - albeit 19 points adrift of arch rival and champions Manchester City. Jose Mourinho was sacked after a chaotic start to this season. 

He told Pogba he would not captain the team again in September, and a day later the pair were reported having a tense training-ground exchange. 

Pogba says his focus is on helping United "go back to the top of the league".

"The performance of the team was great and we are happy that the first game of the manager starts like this," he said. "It's important now to carry on like that.

"We cannot play like this and win with five goals and then the next game lose."

Solskjaer lauds 'exhilarating' Manchester United

For United's past three Premier League matches, Pogba had been a forlorn-looking substitute, but made his return to a more attack-minded XI at Cardiff. 

Solskjaer made four changes to the side that slipped to a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. 

Marcus Rashford's opened the party with stunning free-kick, a deflected effort from Ander Herrera and a spectacular team goal by Anthony Martial effectively won the contest before half-time break.

"I'm pleased with all of them - every single one of them - but of course it's a threat," Solskjaer said.

"When you've got Martial and Jesse Lingard down either side, Rashford up top with Paul supporting them, it's exhilarating to watch and as long as we keep that standard up we'll keep up picking points."

'Ole will make football enjoyable again' - Rooney gets in touch

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was among those to contact Solskjaer in the build-up to Saturday's match - United's record goalscorer imploring his former team-mate to bring a sense of "enjoyment" back to the club.

"I thought I'd give him a message of congratulations, my feelings of how it's been from speaking to some players and what I felt needs to change," Rooney told BT Sport.

"First of all it was just get the lads enjoying playing football. I think that's what the lads wanted, that's what they were after and he's definitely the guy to make them do that."

Rooney, who won the Premier League title five times with United, added he felt the atmosphere around Old Traffold had already changed in the short time since Mourinho was sacked. 

"I stay in touch with a lot of people at the club, speak to them quite a lot - certainly this week - and I think, to be a successful football club, you need everything to be right.

"You need the staff at the training ground to be right, the groundsman whoever that is, they need to feel happy and that rubs off, that rubs off on the players and I think that relationship between some of the staff and some of the players obviously wasn't great.”

"But I think also bringing Ole in, bringing [Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant manager] Mike Phelan in, that already has changed. I think the staff down at the training ground are smiling, they're happy and that rubs off on the players."

Reactions - “That is the Manchester United I expect to see”

Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright on Match of the Day:

"We all know Manchester United have quality players. Cardiff could not get close enough to them. That is the Manchester United I expect to see. You expect that attitude and effort.”

“They have the players to do it and they should have been doing it. It is an unbelievable start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and with the games coming up it could be a good run for Manchester United. "

Ex-England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer on Match of the Day:

"There was no coincidence of the timing. It gives the new manager a chance to get the best possible start with the run of games coming up. Manchester United outran their opponents for the first time this season.”

“There was more movement going forward. They were passing forward - not left, not right but actually forwards. The first thought was that. There was much more about that Manchester United team than we have seen in recent weeks. There is no doubt about it, the players stopped running for [Jose Mourinho]."