Artificial pitch no excuse says Mourinho

Manchester United will not be using the artificial pitch as an excuse if they fail to beat Swiss side Young Boys in Bern in their Champions League opener, manager Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday.

United begin their European campaign on their hosts' synthetic pitch on Wednesday, and Mourinho referenced Swiss tennis great Roger Federer's ability to adapt to different playing surfaces as an example of how his team should rise above the conditions.

Federer, a 20-times Grand Slam champion, has won tournaments on every playing surface in his sport, and Mourinho spoke of his admiration for the Swiss player's adaptability.

"I don't want to use (the artificial pitch)... as a possible excuse for a poor performance," the Portuguese told a news conference.

"Everybody knows it is different but ... We are in Switzerland, the home of one of the best ever tennis players, and I'm pretty sure the big man sometimes is not happy to play on such a surface but he has to play and he has to win.

"Everybody knows he has a favourite surface, but he has also to win on other surfaces. So we have to do it."

United go into the match in good spirits having recovered from a shaky start to the domestic season by...