Manchester United assistant manager Rui Faria has revealed that Jose Mourinho knew the job would not be easy before he joined the club.
Faria was speaking after Mourinho was sent to the stands in Sunday's 1-1 draw with West Ham at Old Trafford, a result that means United are now eleven points behind league leaders Chelsea.
It was a fourth consecutive home Premier League draw for the Red Devils, having been held by Stoke, Burnley and Arsenal since early October.
"We knew it wasn't an easy job," Faria said - viaESPN. "We knew we had a lot of work in front of us.
"If it was easy, the ones who were before us would also have won it. We know it is a big club, we are used to big clubs, and we know how to take a team to win.
"We believe in the players, we believe in the team, we believe that things will change."
Asked about Mourinho's dismissal for his reaction to Jon Moss's decision to book Paul Pogba, Faria said:"I think everyone saw. It's part of the game. It was a refereeing decision so there's nothing to say.
"Everyone saw the frustration in a situation that should have been a free kick to us but was given as a yellow to Paul."
Faria also bemoaned a lack of fortune after watching his side held to a draw, and insisted that there were no tactical issues to be concerned about.
"We were the best team on the pitch," he added. "We had no other issues during the game; it was the game we expected it to be. Defensively we were compact and offensively we created chances to win comfortably.
"It's not happening. We are frustrated with that. One day it will have to happen for us. We'll start winning."