Jesse Lingard has hailed Manchester United’s character against Brighton

United beat the Seagulls 2-0 at Old Trafford yesterday in the FA Cup quarter-finals as Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic helped them to bounce back from their shock Champions League exit to Sevilla.

The Red Devils produced an underwhelming display and Mourinho was once again highly critical of his players.

The Portuguese described Matic as ‘an island - an island of personality, of desire and control - surrounded by, not water, but by a lack of personality, of class and desire’ before claiming some of his team had been ‘scared to play’.

But winger Lingard has suggested that United were not as bad as their manager has made out and insists nothing will ‘faze’ them.

The England ace said: "They [Brighton] sat back and hit us on the counter-attack a few times, which we were obviously aware of before the match, but we knew we needed to win and we got the win, which was the most important thing.

"Of course (confidence took a knock after Tuesday night). It's always difficult for a team to be knocked out of a competition, but we showed the character to bounce back and not let anything faze us."

The FA Cup is now the only competition offering United a realistic chance of silverware this season.

Lingard added: "Semi-finals are always big and it's like the final, you could say, at a neutral ground, so we're excited.

"Any opportunity to win a trophy is always good for the team and the fans, so if we can get a trophy out of the season, it'll be good.

"The semi-final keeps everyone motivated and we have something to look forward to, but saying that, in the Premier League, we need to maintain that second spot and keep the pressure on at the top."

Lukaku and Matic are two of the only players Mourinho has highlighted for praise in recent weeks.

Lukaku's effort against Brighton was his 25th goal for United since joining them last summer.

Lingard said: "We know what [Lukaku] possesses and he has that presence up front for us. He's that lone man who holds the ball up well for us. For him to score that many goals at this time of the season is great."