Premier League legend Frank Lampard claims it will not be Jose Mourinho's fault if Manchester United fail to win the Premier League this season.

The retired Chelsea midfielder, who is now a pundit on BT Sport, formed a close relationship with the Portuguese coach during their time together at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho has been in charge at Manchester United since May 2016 and their early season form suggested they could challenge rivals Manchester City for the title.

However, recent defeats away at Huddersfield Town and Chelsea have left the Red Devils trailing Pep Guardiola's side by eight points.

United - who are the most decorated club in English football history - haven't finished higher than fourth since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

David Moyes and Louis van Gaal have since been sacked after failing to bring anything close to the levels of success fans had come to expect under the great Scottish manager.

Hoping to bring back the glory days of old, Mourinho won two trophies in his debut season - the Europa League and the League Cup.

Lampard believes the Reds will still be "competitive towards the end of the season" but suggested Manchester City and Chelsea both have stronger squads.

"Mourinho is a manager that likes to win and he has a way of winning. It's different to Pep Guardiola, different to Antonio Conte and that's his way," Lampard told Omnisport, as per FourFourTwo.

"If Manchester United don't win the Premier League, for me it's the quality of the players.

"Manchester City have a very strong squad this year, Chelsea still have a very strong squad and I think particularly the first XI, if everybody's fit, Chelsea are very strong.

"When I look at Manchester United, they're there around that area, but maybe the other teams can be stronger.

"I certainly don't think it'll be the manager, and I actually do think that Manchester United will be competitive towards the end of the season, so we'll see."

The Reds have spent massively on their squad in recent years. Mourinho broke the world transfer record to sign Paul Pogba in 2016 and spent another £140m in the market this summer.

Manchester City have been playing unbelievable football so far this season and are massive favourites to win their first Premier League title under Guardiola.

However, Mourinho will surely have other ideas.