MANCHESTER United suffered its third defeat in eight days as Watford handed Jose Mourinho his worst run as a manager in a decade.

    Goals from Etienne Capoue, Juan Zuniga and a late penalty from Troy Deeney overwhelmed the visitors, who had levelled with a solitary strike from Marcus Rashford at Vicarage Road.

    Mourinho’s side was rocked by Capoue’s first-half opener and, although Rashford equalized after the break, United capitulated in the closing stages.

    Zuniga restored Watford’s lead with seven minutes left before Deeney’s penalty condemned Mourinho to a third consecutive defeat for the first time since he was in charge at Porto in 2002.

    It was the first time United had lost three in a row since the unlamented Louis van Gaal presided over four successive defeats in December last year.

    Adding to the indignity for United, it was its first loss in 30 years against Watford, which ended a run of 11 successive defeats against the Manchester giant.

    United is already lagging six points behind league leader Manchester City and the feelgood factor following the three wins that marked the start of the Mourinho era has been completely erased.

    After losing to City, Feyenoord in the Europa League and now Watford over the last week, the size of the task facing Mourinho as the former Chelsea boss rebuilds United has been laid bare.

    Mourinho said United’s humiliation at Watford underlines how much work needs to be done to transform his spluttering side into title contenders.

    Mourinho insisted he was already aware of United’s flaws during the three-match winning run that started his Old Trafford reign.

    Specifically, he is concerned about the fragile way his players respond to adversity and the defense’s habit of making careless mistakes when they don’t adhere to his instructions.

    “We started the season very well with the Community Shield and three victories in a row in the Premier League, ” Mourinho said.

    “But was I thinking that my team was ready, perfect, unbeatable? Not at all.

    “I was completely aware that we were not perfect, with lots of players who are not end products and can make their own mistakes.”(SD-Agencies)