Jose Mourinho praises Anthony Martial's attitude this season

Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on French forward Anthony Martial after showing a vast improvement in his demeanour this term.

The 21-year-old struggled for form during the Portuguese's first season in charge with just eight goals across all competitions.

However, he has begun the new campaign in prime fashion scoring four goals and setting up a further two as he competes with Marcus Rashford for the left-wing role.

Mourinho had spoken fondly of Martial earlier in the season, and he has now insisted that the Frenchman has shown a huge change in attitude this term.

He told reporters, via ESPN: "I see a great improvement in the person, in the moods, in the face and body language.If we want a word: happiness. He is a happy guy. He is working extremely well, he starts matches and tries to do well."

Martial was impressive out wide during United's 4-1 triumph over Burton Albion in midweek, but he is likely to start on the substitutes' bench due to the impressive form of Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku.

Both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata have exchanged passes with fluency in the forward department, and Mourinho is unlikely to want to tweak his lineup for the Southampton clash this weekend.