Ed Woodward not to blame for Man Utd's struggles under Jose Mourinho, says Jamie Redknapp

1:32 Jamie Redknapp says Jose Mourinho should shoulder the blame for the club's poor start to the season Jamie Redknapp says Jose Mourinho should shoulder the blame for the club's poor start to the season

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is not to blame for the club's struggles this season, according to Jamie Redknapp.

United sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday after a 3-1 defeat to rivals Liverpool left the club 19 points adrift of the Premier League leaders - their worst start to a season in 28 years.

Woodward has been criticised by some sections of the United support over a perceived lack of support for Mourinho in the transfer market.

However, Redknapp believes the Portuguese was given sufficient funding during his time at Old Trafford.

When asked if Woodward was partly to blame for the club's league position, Redknapp said: "I don't agree with that to be honest.

5:19 Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho, as Michael Carrick takes temporary charge Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho, as Michael Carrick takes temporary charge

"Ed Woodward doesn't play, he is not the one that gets the players onto the pitch. He's spent fortunes.

"He's given Jose Mourinho pretty much everything he wanted over the last couple of years, pretty much all the players Mourinho has signed, he plays.

"He gave him how much for Pogba and that hasn't worked out. It is not Woodward's fault.

"The last time Manchester United outran a team was Swansea last year. That has got nothing to do with the board.

2:33 James Cooper outlines the next steps for Manchester United following the sacking of Mourinho James Cooper outlines the next steps for Manchester United following the sacking of Mourinho

"Okay, maybe they shouldn't have given him a contract last year but I get that one, I can see why you would want to do it.

"You're trying your best to give the manager an opportunity to get it right, but it hasn't worked. It is not right to blame him for that."

Mourinho clashed with a number of his senior players this season - most notably Paul Pogba, who was stripped of the club vice-captaincy in September.

1:54 Former England defender Danny Mills says current England manager Gareth Southgate could be the ideal replacement for Mourinho at United Former England defender Danny Mills says current England manager Gareth Southgate could be the ideal replacement for Mourinho at United

The pair were filmed by Sky Sports News having an animated disagreement on the training ground later that month and Redknapp believes Mourinho lost the support of the France international this season.

He said: "Pogba is an incredibly talented player and one that you want on side in that dressing room.

"You can see he's a strong character - you only have to look at the World Cup final when he's doing the team talk and everybody is listening to him.

1:40 Gary Neville says current Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino would be his choice at Old Trafford Gary Neville says current Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino would be his choice at Old Trafford

"He had everyone in the palm of his hand in that team, the team that won the World Cup. Why couldn't you get him to be like that for Manchester United? I don't get it - it can't be that hard.

"Everyone you speak to about Paul Pogba says he's a decent lad, a nice guy who wants to win and play football.

"But for some reason Jose has managed to fall out with a lot of his stars. Why has that happened?"