The former manager says the current United side are no better than they were a year ago, but he isn’t revelling in their struggles after being sacked

Jose Mourinho admits he deserved to be sacked as Manchester United manager – but he isn’t enjoying watching them struggle under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United were deservedly beaten 2-0 at West Ham on Sunday, a result which saw them drop down to eighth in the Premier League table.

The club were in sixth when Mourinho was sacked midway through last season, with fans disgruntled at what they saw as an overly defensive style of football.

Under Solskjaer this season, though, United have scored more than one goal in a game just once – on the opening day against Chelsea.

“I’m not the right person to answer it,” Mourinho said on Sky Sports when asked about United’s problems.

“They are far behind. It’s difficult for me to answer. I was there for two seasons where I could feel lots of positive things and I could feel the direction to go in, then obviously the third season was not good enough.

“I was sacked, I probably deserved to be sacked because I was responsible as the manager, but the sad reality is that they are worse than before.

“And for me that is a sad thing. Maybe people think I’m enjoying the situation but I’m not enjoying it at all.”

With Liverpool and Manchester City expected to challenge for the title again, the top four is the realistic target for United this season.

But with United faltering and star forward Marcus Rashford now injured, Mourinho thinks his former side could struggle to even hold onto their position in the top six.

“I have people in the club I love, I have lots of respect for the fans and for me it’s really sad because when a team is ‘boring’, you are boring but you can still get the results,” he added.

“But at this moment I don’t see anything. I think they are going to really, really be in trouble to get not just into the top four but potentially in the top six.

“I think this team is worse than the team of last season.”

United face Rochdale in the Carabao Cup in their next game, before next weekend’s clash with Arsenal. The Gunners twice came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 on Sunday.