Jose Mourinho has praised the collective personality of Manchester United's squad ahead of his side's clash with rivals Manchester City.
The Red Devils have picked up a number of results after coming from behind in recent weeks, netting twice late on against Juventus to win 2-1 and hitting back from a goal down against Bournemouth to pick up three points last weekend, Marcus Rashford scoring a stoppage time winner on that occasion.
After early season problems and a well-publicised fall out between Mourinho and Paul Pogba, the United camp looked to be rife with disruption, so their recent turnaround has come as a surprise to many.
When asked what is behind the last-gasp goal scoring of late, Mourinho praised the character among his players.
“It's the collective personality," he told Manchester United's official website. "I don't go in the direction of individual personalities; I don't go in the direction of, 'I try to create this on my players'.
"I think it's a collective feeling that everybody is having. It probably comes with the Manchester United DNA. That is something that probably the shirts keep and when you wear it, you have it.
"So even when the moment is difficult, even when the team is not playing very well - which is not the case, because recently our results are a consequence of playing really well - but I think it's something that's in this group's DNA.
"The boys are friends, the boys are proud and when things are not going well, they never say: 'The game is over'.”
After a run of four games without a win at the end of September and beginning of October, the outlook for Mourinho looked bleak and many fans were calling for the manager to be sacked.
But a 3-2 win against Newcastle United, in which the Reds came back from 2-0 down, steadied the ship somewhat, and United have not lost in the Premier League since.
Mourinho emphatically celebrated the victory over Juventus on Wednesday and made a gesture to the opposition fans by raising his hand to his ear at the final whistle. Former United defender Gary Neville said that reaction showed determination in itself.
