Pog: Jose helped me to improve

Mourinho's tempestuous relationship with Pogba was viewed as one of the reasons why United chiefs opted to terminate the manager's contract.

But the French World Cup winner offered up polite words about the Portuguese tactician after he returned to Premier League action in their 5-1 win against Cardiff.

"We won trophies with Jose and I want to thank him for that," said Pogba, who was accused of posting a sarcastic message on his Twitter account directed at Mourinho - later deleted - less than an hour after the club confirmed the coaches departure.

"He makes me improve, as a person as well, and that's it. That's the past, I want to thank him for that. I'm sure that is the same for all the players and now we are looking forward to the next game."

Pogba also hailed his side's improved performance under Ole Gunner Solskjaer, as they scored five goals for the first time since Alex Ferguson's final game in charge in 2013.

"The performance of the team was great and we are happy the first game of the manager starts like this," he added. "It's important now to carry on like that.