Mourinho: Manchester will pull together as one

Dom Farrell

Mourinho: Manchester will pull together as one image

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has no doubt the local people will "pull together as one" after Monday's bomb attack in the city.

Football reacts as 22 killed in Manchester

The blast at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and left 59 injured after a concert by American pop star Ariana Grande and is being treated as a terror attack by local police.

United face Ajax in the Europa League final in Stockholm on Wednesday and held a minute's silence ahead of their final training session before the match at their Carrington base.

Mourinho's squad travel to Sweden late on Tuesday but have been allowed to forego their pre-match media duties in light of the incident, with UEFA accepting a request from the club.

However, Mourinho did address the bombing and his side's preparations against such a tragic backdrop in a short statement on United's official website.

"We are all very sad about the tragic events last night; we cannot take out of our minds and our hearts the victims and their families," he said.

"We have a job to do and we will fly to Sweden to do that job. It is a pity we cannot fly with the happiness that we always have before a big game.

"I know, even during my short time here, that the people of Manchester will pull together as one."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.