MANCHESTER UNITED director of football Jason Wilcox is convinced the club are heading “in the right direction”.
United have won three successive Premier League games for the first time since February 2024 to rise to sixth in the table.
Having endured their worst season in 51 years last term, United began this campaign with three defeats in their first six league games and were humiliatingly knocked out of the League Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town.
United spent £225million on four signings in the summer and Wilcox acknowledged the Prem pedigree of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo has been key.
With optimism rife again at United, Wilcox – who has hardly spoken publicly since he arrived from Southampton in April 2024 – gave a rare interview to the club website.
Wilcox said: “We have got a clear plan. We know what we have got to do, we know the areas of the team that we have got to improve.
SNOWED OFF
Play-off clash POSTPONED after biggest October snowfall since records began
“For us to get in the top four and consistently challenge for Champions League places, win Champions League, win Premier League, we have got to invest in the squad.
“We have got to buy the right players. The right players who are talented but also who can deal with the pressure, who can take the squad forward.
“It is not always about just signing elite talent, they have got to have the right character and be somebody who can bring something different to the team.
“We are really happy with where we are, we know we have got to improve and, you know, the players, they will never be satisfied, Ruben will never be happy, I will never be happy, it is just how we are built.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
“We are always looking to improve. Anybody who works at Manchester United should be thinking the same and they do, with the standards we are driving every day.”
“They (the signings) are all good guys, even from last summer’s window, they are top professionals, top players.
“And we are really optimistic we are going in the right direction.”
Mbeumo is United’s top scorer with five goals, having arrived in a £71m deal from Brentford.
£62.5m signing Cunha broke his duck in the 4-2 defeat of Brighton while goalkeeper Senne Lammens’ promotion to No1 has coincided with United’s winning run.
Wilcox added: “I think especially when you look at Matheus and Bryan, they have played in the Premier League and they have lived in England, so there is a quicker transition.
“I think for Benji (Sesko) and Senne, you look at their transition and they have transitioned really well. We are really pleased.
“They are two young players, two for the future, but they have settled in amazingly well.
“We have a clear plan. I am sure there are going to be bumps in the road but we have just got to make sure we stay calm irrespective of the noise outside.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
WASHOUT
Met Office warns of Hurricane Melissa remnants as Scotland set for Halloween storm
GRUBS UP
We ate the same ‘council estate tea’ every day & I still swear by it – it’s 93p
“I see the intensity, I am at training every day, I see the way that they train, the way they apply themselves, the way they communicate and get on with each other.
“Like I say, when you lose football matches you are always going to be a little bit disappointed and especially at this club.”
