EPL: Fans back Mourinho as United sink Burnley

Manchester United fans showed their backing for manager Jose Mourinho after Romelu Lukaku struck twice as United returned to winning ways after two successive Premier League losses with a 2-0 victory at Burnley on Sunday.

But it was not all good news for Mourinho, as substitute Marcus Rashford was sent off in the 71st minute for pushing his forehead into Phil Bardsley's head.

Rashford's loss of cool, described by Mourinho as "naive", was the only real blemish in a solid performance along with Paul Pogba missing a second-half penalty.

As expected, some United fans protested against chief executive Ed Woodward by hiring a plane to carry a banner over the ground declaring him a "specialist in failure".

Mourinho said he had not seen the protest and simply said "Ed Woodward won 2-0 today".

Defeats by Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur increased the scrutiny on United, Woodward and Mourinho but while this win will not end the doubts over the club's direction it did suggest they are not in free-fall.

The reaction of the United away support, chanting "Mourinho's red army" certainly showed that the controversial manager enjoys backing among the club's hardcore fans.

Mourinho said the fans' supportive reaction at the end of Monday's 3-0 home loss to Spurs had set the tone for the performance.

"The three points were an important thing, the quality of the performance and happiness of the team is an Old Trafford response --  the way Old Trafford reacted to the boys in the Spurs defeat was important," he said.

"What Old Trafford did to the team after Spurs was fundamental to the happiness of the team.

"Today the fans were fantastic from the first minute, but Old Trafford is a moment to remember," he said.

Mourinho ended the game by showing his appreciation for the United supporters who had chanted his name throughout the game and, pointedly, in the final minutes.

United must show winning mentality, says Lukaku

Manchester United must show a winning mentality more often in the Premier League but fans will now be able to see improvement from their slow start to the season, striker Romelu Lukaku has said after his two goals saw them record a 2-0 win at Burnley

"We have the mentality, but it needs to come out a bit more. That is what the manager wants and that is what we need to do," Lukaku told the club's website.

"We should have scored more in the first half and more in the second half, but ... we played better than we did last season and there was a big improvement in our play."

The Belgian international said United had made huge strides since suffering back-to-back defeats by Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.

"The people will now see a different side of us," he added.

"Everything that we worked on in the last couple of weeks is coming out now - lots of quick passing, runs in behind, a lot of action and a lot of chances."

United next travel to Watford in the league on September 15.