Sunderland's Wes Brown reacts to Jose Mourinho's imminent arrival at Manchester United

The 36-year-old centre-back made more than 250 appearances for Manchester United before moving to Sunderland in 2011.

Experienced Brown knows all too well the pressure facing the Old Trafford club to win trophies every season and he admits it is imperative the club gets the "right person" for the job.

Louis van Gaal was sacked earlier this week, two years into his three-year deal, despite winning the FA Cup last weekend.

Failure to qualify for the Champions League was a major blow to Manchester United though and van Gaal paid for it with his job.

Brown said: "I'm sure he would have been disappointed he didn't get them into the Champions League but it's not just down to the manager but the players as well.

"The club has decided to release him now and bring Jose in.

"I think it's just a matter of getting the right person for the team and obviously it's not happened for Van Gaal and they've decided to replace him.

"When I was at the club, we were expected to win things and win the Champions League as well or at least do well in it.

"Every year it was a given and we never really thought we wouldn't be in it; that was the standard set by the team.

"I think Mourinho is probably a good fit although I could say he'll be brilliant in the job and then things could go wrong.

"But he definitely knows how to handle it and he's been in the Premier League before so we'll see how it goes," Brown told the Belfast Telegraph.

The former England international won 18 trophies in his 14 years as a first-team player at Old Trafford.