Manchester United's victories either side of the international break have provided some much-needed stability after their early-season woes.

The Red Devils' hapless defeats to Brighton and Tottenham left Jose Mourinho teetering on the brink, but his side have bounced back by beating Burnley and Watford away from home.

It's little coincidence that in the early stages of the campaign, in which United have kept just one clean sheet and conceded eight goals in five games, Mourinho has employed no fewer than 10 different players in defence.

Injuries have forced his hand to some extent, yet he has also changed things around on more than one occasion because of poor performances.

On Monday, it was reported in the Daily Mirror that Eric Bailly wants to quit Old Trafford having been dropped in the wake of his errors at Brighton.

The £30million Ivorian has been reduced to a substitute's role since then and while on the one hand, he might still be able to force his way back into contention, that will be difficult if Mourinho has now decided on his preferred partnership.

That's the opinion of Gary Neville, at least, who noticed that against Watford - just as in the 2-0 win at Burnley - it was Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling who started, with the latter scoring a crucial goal at Vicarage Road.

Mourinho has finally settled 

"I said earlier there wasn't an obvious pair among them and now Jose has obviously settled by picking them [Smalling and Lindelof] again," Mourinho said, via the Manchester Evening News.

"I thought Chris' goal [against Watford] was amazing and Lindelof needs a chance.

"United need to find out about him and yesterday will have been one of the more difficult, physical games for him to combat."

It was essential that Mourinho finally made up his mind. After the 3-0 humbling by Tottenham, he admitted:

"I don't know my best back four."

Bizarrely, Ander Herrera was employed as part of a back three on that occasion but United fans can expect fewer eyebrow-raising decisions like that going forward.

Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young, Phil Jones, and Antonio Valencia have also featured since August.

United do have leaders 

There will be many who are yet to be convinced by either Smalling or Lindelof, though the latter improved his stock dramatically at the World Cup with Sweden.

However, Neville believes United are not alone in their defensive frailties and that they do have big characters at the back.

"You can say that about any team now, that they lack leadership at the back," Neville said.

"But, football is different and there aren't as many players who are as vocal as there used to be. But, Antonio Valencia is a leader by the way he has played over the last two or three seasons.

"So there are leaders within the team who can influence in different ways."

United may choose to rotate for their Champions League encounter with Young Boys, but it will certainly be interesting to see who Mourinho opts for against Wolves.  

Who are United's best back four? Have your say in the comments.