Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has praised manager Jose Mourinho's winning mentality.

The Red Devils are beginning to find their best form under Mourinho, stringing together a run of five consecutive victories across all competitions this month.

De Gea believes that the upturn in form is a result of the team getting used to playing with each other, and challenged his side to keep up their winning ways.

"He's a really great manager. He's a winner; he wants to win every game, every competition. He's working hard, he's really close to the players and I think that's really good. He's always joking with us, he's a strong character and that's good. Things are more positive and he's a winner. You can feel he wants to win and I think the players know that we have to," he told the club's official website.

"With the manager and the new players we've signed, everything is calmer now and it's more of a normal situation. But now we need to do it on the pitch. We need to win games, and that's that. We all want to go in the same direction.

"We want to win things and we all know what Manchester United is. It's a massive club, we know all the fans deserved more than they have had in the last few years and we need to play our best, give everything on the pitch and keep trying to win, win, win."

United host Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve looking for a fifth straight Premier League victory.