Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that his side are not out of the Premier League title race despite an inauspicious start to the season.

The Red Devils currently sit sixth in the table, already nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea following a run of just two wins from their last nine league outings.

Mourinho acknowledged that the level of competition this season will make winning the title from their current position difficult, but insists that it can still be done.

"When I won the last title 18 years ago - sorry, 18 months ago - I had something like 10 points advantage and then in one month I had the same points as Man City," he told reporters.

"We recovered and won that title. But you can recover points. Other teams can lose points. During the season there are moments where everything goes against you and where everything goes in your favour.

"We know that the game is not over - but the reality is that there is a distance, and there are many quality teams. It's a very difficult competition, but let's go match by match and see what happens. We play another difficult game on Sunday - let's see if we can get the three points."

Mourinho's side will host West Ham United at Old Trafford on Sunday looking for their first home league win in more than two months.