Jose Mourinho insists Manchester United are ‘best of the rest’ after Premier League runaway leaders Manchester City

Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Swansea City saw United regain second place in the Premier League table after Liverpool’s late win at Crystal Palace had briefly dropped them into third

Jose Mourinho has defended Manchester United’s season (Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho has hit back at Manchester United’s critics, insisting that his side deserve to be considered as ‘the best of the rest’ behind champions-elect Manchester City.

Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Swansea City saw United regain second place in the Premier League table after Liverpool’s late win at Crystal Palace had briefly dropped them into third. The win also means that United can delay City’s coronation by avoiding defeat in next weekend’s Manchester derby.

City, however, know that victory at the Etihad will seem them crowned champions with their oldest rivals watching on. Mourinho conceded the title to Pep Guardiola’s side some time ago but he is proud that his side has led the chasing pack for almost the entirety of the campaign.

Since being overtaken by City in mid-September, United have only ended a round of fixtures outside of the top two once, following December’s 0-0 home draw with Southampton. They have otherwise been City’s nearest challengers, and Mourinho believes those who claim his side have not put up a credible challenge this season should remember that.

When asked about the forthcoming derby after beating Swansea, the United manager said: “Manchester City is not important for me. Important for me is that since the moment we left the first position and went to second, we stayed there for the whole of the season.

“We deserved to feel second in spite of what you can say, the critics you make,” Mourinho added. “You all say the third, fourth, fifth, sixth are better than us but they are not better than us because we have more points than them. We are going to fight every match. Seven matches to go, we are going to fight to try and finish second.”