Mourinho's mad dogs: De Rossi, Vidal and the midfield warriors Manchester United wish they had

Manager lamented the lack of spirit after his side's 2-2 draw with Southampton

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  Daniele De Rossi has been the heart and soul of Roma for almost two decades and although he is nearing the end of his career at the age of 35, you can tell the game truly matters when he steps on the pitch. He made headlines last year during an international match which Italy needed to win when, as a substitute, he was asked to warm up but angrily told the manager to put someone else on with more attacking instinct. Imagine him telling Mourinho who he should be playing. Getty Images

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  It speaks volumes that Arturo Vidal was signed by Barcelona at 31 years old in the summer. Although his move hasn't gone swimmingly so far, he is still fondly remembered for bossing the midfield during spells at Juventus and Bayern Munich. AP Photo

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  Gennaro Gattuso wasn't a pretty player, but he was a successful one, winning Serie A and the Champions League twice with AC Milan, the club he currently manages. A proper ball winner who left the flashy stuff to his teammates, he famously brawled with Tottenham coach Joe Jordan during a Champions League match. Reuters

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  Patrick Vieira was the driving force behind Arsenal's Invincibles. Manchester United fans may have despised him after countless battles between the two clubs, but they wouldn't have said no to having him in their midfield. AP

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  Snapping, stamping, snarling, Roy Keane was never far from the action during his 326 league appearances for Manchester United between 1993-2005. He shares Mourinho's view of the current team labelling some of them recently as "cry babies". "When you walk out on that pitch you're playing for your pride, you're playing for your family, you're playing for your city, whatever it might be," he said. Darren Staples / Reuters

We're quite used to Jose Mourinho bemoaning something about his Manchester United team.

This time it's the lack of "mad dogs" at his disposal, after United came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with lowly Southampton.

"It doesn't matter the system we play," Mourinho said. "[Not winning] has to do with the characteristics of the players.

"With all due respect, we don't have many mad dogs that bite the ball and press all the time. We don't have many people with that spirit."

So, who does have that spirit? See our slideshow above of five former and current players who would be just the ticket for Mourinho and his struggling side.

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Read more:

Manchester United fight back from two goals down to claim draw at Southampton

What next for Roy Keane's managerial career after Republic of Ireland exit?