<
>

Jose Mourinho offers Fred the Red new Man United contract

Jose Mourinho has wasted little time making his mark at Manchester United, having already splashed around £60 million on the acquisitions of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.

However, Mourinho has also been busy behind the scenes as well, assembling and moulding his backroom staff in preparation for his maiden season at Old Trafford.

One of the Portuguese coach's first orders of business was to assure one of United's most long-serving members of staff that his job would be safe under the new regime.

We are of course talking about club mascot "Fred the Red," who, despite being part of the fabric of the club since his introduction in 1994, feared that his position was in jeopardy when the new boss was appointed back in May.

But, according to The Sun, the man in the Fred suit -- club employee Steve Smith -- has been assured that he remains an important part of Mourinho's plans, and has even received an offer of a new contract into the bargain.

"Steve was concerned Jose might have different plans for what he wants the club to do before games," a United source told the paper.

"But Jose met him during a meet-and-greet of workers and told him he was great and he liked what he did to help get the fans in the mood for the game.

"Steve had been worried about his future, but Jose has put his fears at rest."

Phew.