Nemanja Matic wants his Manchester United teammates to accept their share of the blame for the club’s failings under Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy last week after a humbling 3-1 loss to Premier League leaders Liverpool compounded a dispiriting start to the season.

Former crowd favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season, and United’s players responded with a resounding 5-1 victory over Cardiff City in his first game in charge.

But concluding that the latter result was simply down to the squad being liberated from Mourinho’s rule is overly simplistic according to Matic, who was also signed by the Portuguese at Chelsea in 2014.

Asked whether his teammates should take responsibility for Mourinho’s demise, Matic replied: ‘Of course. I said this also after the Liverpool game, that we have to take responsibility and do our best to play better and to win games.

‘I don’t know [what changed at Cardiff]. This is the question no-one has an answer to, but we are sure this is the way to continue, to fight and we will try to do it.

‘This is football. In football this happens. We know also it’s not only the manager’s fault when the results are not good.

‘But this is football and we have to carry on, to fight for the club.’

Solskjaer’s first home game at the helm comes against Huddersfield Town on Boxing Day, with Bournemouth then visiting Old Trafford this weekend.