Chris Hughton has hailed Jose Mourinho as a "huge plus" for English football.

Hughton's Albion host Manchester United today (4pm) with question marks surrounding Mourinho's mood at the start of his third season in charge at Old Trafford.

"Managers manage and when they stop they try and go somewhere else and manage," Hughton said. "On any questions on Jose, he's been and is a huge plus for our game here and the Premier League. And will continue to be so.

"I have nothing but admiration for Jose. And on a personal level I've met him on a lot of occasions when we've played against them, and for somebody who came into the English game he's a manager who has always spoken well about football here.

"He goes to watch games and plays a big role in what we do with the LMA. He's somebody who is a great supporter of that."

Mourinho has claimed managers are more like head coaches now.

"Whatever Jose says is what he feels," Hughton said. "The role has changed. The old style English-type manager who would get involved in lots of other aspects of the game, like contracts and so on, that has changed dramatically.

"The modern day manager is very much a coach, responsible for the tactics and results of the team. Areas that he would have got involved in in the past he doesn't. That I would agree with."