Anfield atmosphere 'motivates' United, says Jose Mourinho

Phil Neville said this week that a trip to Anfield is the "ultimate test" for a United player while Mikael Silvestre warned the current squad to prepare for "hell."

Mourinho, though, insists his players will "enjoy" whatever the 55,000 Liverpool fans can throw at them.

He told a news conference on Friday: "You know this is quite funny for me because I think when people speak about big atmospheres, it looks like we don't like, it looks like it's a problem for us to go to a certain place and to face a big atmosphere — this is what we want.

"I am surprised that you speak about that in a negative way, I am even more surprised when I hear former, big players speak about atmospheres like something sinister, something that worries.

"It motivates us, it is something that we want, it is something that if we could have every match we would have every match. You know, when Barcelona played against Las Palmas with an empty stadium, do you think the players were happy with that? Do you think Las Palmas players wouldn't prefer to play with Nou Camp full of people and a great atmosphere? We are speaking about Old Trafford, in this case Anfield like it's a big problem. it's a satisfaction, that's what we want. "I never see a player complain 'oh, this atmosphere was very strong' — we complain when the atmosphere is flat.

"When we play at home and we don't see big enthusiasm in the people, we complain."