'Mourinho trying to make Man Utd more attractive' - Vidic sees signs of encouragement

Manchester United are starting embrace the “attacking, attractive” football for which they are famed, says Nemanja Matic, with Jose Mourinho moving away from a defensive mindset.

The Portuguese has built his coaching career on an ability to make his sides difficult to break down, with much success enjoyed across Europe when adopting that philosophy.

He has had to change his ways somewhat at Old Trafford, though, with United expected to place more emphasis on playing on the front foot.

A return to form for Anthony Martial has aided that cause over recent weeks, with an injury to Romelu Lukaku forcing Mourinho to tinker with his plans and experiment with a different system.

Former Red Devils defender Vidic is pleased to see a more adventurous approach being taken, with the Serbian telling beIN Sports: “As a player, as someone who played for the club, you want to see them much closer [to the title].

“Manchester United in their history always played attacking, attractive football. I think in the last few games what I like about Manchester United is they've started to be more positive with Mourinho's team selection.

“I think Martial, [Marcus] Rashford, [Juan] Mata up front... it has not happened many times playing together. I think the mentality is of not just defensively but also they are thinking more towards the goal.

“That's pretty attacking football from Manchester United, particularly if you have Luke Shaw on the left hand side and Ashley Young on the right. That's more attacking and I like to see that.”

United have collected three successive victories across all competitions, and four in their last six.

Belief is returning to the Red Devils ranks, with Mourinho’s side showing that they are capable of collecting positive results when not at their best.

That was a quality which served the Sir Alex Ferguson teams that Vidic graced well in the past.

There are, however, plenty more challenges to come, starting with a derby date against Manchester City on Sunday.

United head into that game sat nine points adrift of their neighbours and playing catch-up in the battle to secure top-four finishes.