Manchester United have started the new season in blistering style with back-to-back 4-0 victories against West Ham and Swansea City, putting Jose Mourinho’s side as the team to beat in the Premier League title charge.

The start of the season shows solid progress from the Red Devils side who enjoyed success in Mourinho’s inaugural season in charge last term, winning the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League.

Manchester United want to go one better this season with success in the more established competitions and Mourinho has challenged his side to achieve something the Red Devils haven’t achieved in 18 years; winning a domestic double.

The Sun states Mourinho made the demands in his pre-season team meeting, where the Portuguese boss outlined his intentions to win both the Premier League and the FA Cup, as well as advancing to at least the quarter-final stages of the Champions League.

Mourinho is certainly in a confident mood and a club source commented on the raise in expectations this season, stating:

“The target he has given the players reflects how positive he feels about this group. He has made them believe in what can be achieved and there is a real confidence in this squad  they can do it.”

It’s still early days in the Premier League campaign and any success in the cup competitions is largely dependant on who Manchester United draw, as a wealth of top-class opponents lie in their wait- particularly in Europe.

Some may argue that it’s too early to make such monstrous demands as we’re only two games into the new Premier League season and the Red Devils have much bigger tests on the horizon, with stand-out games against Manchester City and Liverpool likely to provide a huge impact on the title race.

Manchester United face a succession of difficult fixtures after the September international break, travelling to Stoke and Southampton whilst also hosting Everton, with the biggest test then coming on October 14th at Anfield against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.