Jose Mourinho has refused to blame his players for their performance in Sunday's loss to Brighton as "people do not accept" it.

United were beaten 3-2 thanks to a first-half onslaught from the Seagulls. And when asked about the individual performances of his players, Mourinho insisted that he must remain positive because people couldn't handle him telling the truth.

"When I speak about individual performances and when I'm critical with my players, you just don't accept it," he told Sky Sports.

"The press and pundits are usually very critical of me when I go in that direction, so please don't ask me to go in this direction, because it's not good for me.

"So I will be very, very happy to analyse my players' performances when they are very good.

"It is a great thing for me to come in front of the camera and say player A, B, C was fantastic. It's amazing for me. When I cannot do that, don't push me to the other side, because I don't go to the other side."