Manchester United job: Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has written a six-page letter to the United board

Jose Mourinho has written to Manchester United to state his case to become the club's next manager, according to a report in the Independent on Sunday.

The newspaper states that former Chelsea manager Mourinho has sent United a six-page letter in which he outlines why he would be a suitable fit for the position, which is currently occupied by under-pressure Dutchman Louis van Gaal.

United declined to comment on the report when contacted.

Mourinho left Chelsea in December after a poor start to the season, despite his team winning the Barclays Premier League in the previous campaign.

According to the report, Mourinho explains in the letter how he would be prepared to adapt his style of management to suit the demands at Old Trafford, and how he would seek to overhaul the squad.

The 52-year-old Portuguese's fondness for United is well known and he has been linked with the job before, but United chose David Moyes to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 and Van Gaal to come in a year later.

As well as two spells at Chelsea, Mourinho has previously bossed Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

After he departed Chelsea before Christmas, Blues coach Steve Holland predicted Mourinho would want to soon be back involved in the game at the highest level.

'He's a guy who needs and wants football,' said Holland. 'There will be clubs and big clubs who will want him.

'And he's not in my opinion the sort of guy who's going to spend six, seven, eight months sitting at home doing nothing in particular.'

Pressure mounted on Van Gaal after United's 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Saturday, which left the Red Devils five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.

With Mailonline

Villagers discover 'plane debris' washed up on Thailand beach

Discovery: The large piece of curved metal (pictured) washed ashore in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, according to a local officia

A piece of suspected plane wreckage has been found on a beach in southern Thailand, prompting speculation it might belong to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

The large piece of curved metal washed ashore in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, according to a local official. 

Villagers discovered the piece of metal and reported it to the authorities to help identify it, said Tanyapat Patthikongpan, head of Pak Phanang district.

'Villagers found the wreckage, measuring about 2metres wide and 3metres long (6.6 by 9.8 feet),' he said.

The find has sparked speculation in the Thai media that the debris could belong to MH370, which disappeared with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.

There has been no official confirmation that the wreckage belongs to a plane. 

The barnacle-covered piece of metal has some identifying features, which should help narrow down whether or not it came from a plane.

The number ‘323’ is printed near its ragged edge, as pointed out by the villagers. Elsewhere, the numbers ‘307’ and ‘308’ are printed.

On the reverse side of the shard, a red wire can be seen dangling over what appears to be a serial number ‘SG5773-1’.

The edges of the piece of metal appear to reveal a 'honeycomb' structure, which is widely used in aircraft and rockets due to its light weight. 

According to Patthikongpan, local fishermen said it could have been under the sea for no more than a year, judging by the barnacles on it.

Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off MH370's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course.

Most of those on board the fated flight were Chinese. Beijing said it was following developments closely. 

Lingering uncertainty surrounding the fate of the plane has tormented the families of those on board. Some have said even the discovery of debris would still not solve the mystery. 

It is the second wave of speculation about the missing passenger jet this month, after search teams mistook a 200-year-old shipwreck in the Indian Ocean for the plane wreckage. 

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), based in western Australia, located the large metal object, which looked eerily similar to the fuselage of a plane, using an underwater sonar vessel. 

The search for the plane is due to end in June this year, despite the Chinese relatives pleading for it to be expanded.

Elsewhere, French prosecutors confirmed ‘with certainty’ in September that a wing part found on a remote Indian Ocean island was from missing flight MH370.

Tests were carried out on the flaperon, which was found on La Reunion in July, by the French body responsible for civil aviation accident investigations.

At the time of the discovery on the French territory last month, Malaysian officials said it was 'almost certain' the wing flap came from a Boeing 777 – the same model as the Malaysian airlines jet.

The 6ft-long wing flap washed up 3,500 miles from the doomed jet's last-known location, fuelling hopes across the world that one of aviation's greatest mysteries could finally be solved.  

Some families have previously said that they do not necessarily believe their family members have died. Rather, they said, they believed the passengers were being held prisoner somewhere for an unknown reason.

With daily mail

Ancient village: Inside 3,000-year-old 'lost world'

Bronze Age Village

"It feels almost rude to be intruding. It doesn't feel like archaeology any more. It feels like somebody's house has burned down and we're going in and picking over their goods," Mark Knight says.

Knight is the director of a remarkable project: the excavation of the best-preserved Bronze Age village ever found in Britain.

Lost deep in the marshlands of eastern England, in a clay quarry not far from a frozen french fry factory, the Must Farm site is yielding secrets from 3,000 years ago.

Two newly discovered Bronze Age dwellings provide an extraordinary insight into the domestic life of our ancestors.

These large, circular, wooden houses, built on stilts above water, would have been home to several families.

The settlement, dating to 1200 to 800 BCE -- the end of the Bronze Age -- was destroyed by a dramatic fire and collapsed into the river, preserving the contents in situ and in an astonishing condition.

As a result, archaeologists are finding rare small cups, bowls and jars, even a cooking pot containing a wooden spoon and the remains of grainy porridge, which suggests the last meal in the house was abandoned as the owners fled the fire.

"We are learning more about the food our ancestors ate, and the pottery they used to cook and serve it. We can also get an idea of how different rooms were used," says Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, a government agency helping to fund the work.

Literally following the preserved footprints found on the site, we encounter glass beads forming part of an elaborate necklace and exceptional textiles made from plant fibers such as lime tree bark. These were obviously relatively wealthy families.

Clearly visible are the well-preserved charred roof timbers of one of the roundhouses, timbers with tool marks and a perimeter of wooden posts fencing off the settlement.

The finds, taken together, provide a fuller picture of prehistoric life in Britain than we have ever had before.

"It is a window of opportunity to explore this lost world," Knight says.

1,200-year-old Viking sword discovered by hiker.

The site came to light in 1999 when a local man, Martin Redding, spotted a wooden post on the side of a disused quarry. After 15 years of intermittent research, the current dig started in September and will continue through March.

Once the digging is complete and further analysis and conservation has been done, the findings will be displayed at Peterborough Museum and at other local venues.

The enterprise is being co-funded by brick manufacturer Forterra, which owns the Must Farm quarry.

The site, the exact location of which we've been asked not to reveal in order to protect it, is 1,100 square meters and 2 meters (6 feet) below the modern ground surface.

Knight and his colleagues suggest there is much more to be discovered as work continues over the coming months.

"The roof of the building collapsed, and what's fantastic is that there is a sort of hump beneath that center, which suggests the contents of the building are underneath the roof as well. So over the next few weeks we will take the roof away and see what's underneath," Knight says excitedly.

A human skull has already been found on the site. In the coming weeks, we might learn how the fire started -- and find out what happened to the people in those houses.

With CNN

Man Utd fans are right to boo me - LVG

United failed to score a first-half goal for the 11th home game in a row, before Charlie Austin got the winner in the 87th minute.

United are fifth in the Premier League, five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and 10 off leaders Leicester.

"They are right to boo. I cannot deny that, I saw the match," said Van Gaal.

"For better or for worse we have to stick together," added the Dutchman after his side's six league defeat of the season.

United have taken 37 points from their first 23 games, their lowest total in the Premier League era and three points fewer than under David Moyes during the 2013/14 season.

Van Gaal added: "We are working very hard, but we have had a lot of injuries. That you cannot change."

On Saturday, United were without Ashley Young, who Van Gaal says faces "a long time" out with a serious groin injury, and lost fellow defender Matteo Darmian mid-way through the second-half following a clash with Shane Long.

Van Gaal revealed that the Italian was "spitting blood" after leaving the pitch and had gone to hospital.

If the 26-year-old is now sidelined it will leave United without a fit senior full-back, with Luke Shaw still out after suffering a double fracture of his right leg last September.

With BBC Sport

Manchester United fans call for Louis van Gaal to be sacked

Southampton's new £4m signing Charlie Austin took just seven minutes after coming off the bench to score a late winner and pile the pressure on beleaguered Louis van Gaal as Manchester United once more crashed to ignominious defeat.

His 87th-minute header left United with just 37 points after 23 games, their lowest total in the Premier League era, and three fewer than David Moyes had at the same stage during his season in charge.

They have now won only two of their last ten league matches, and they have failed to score in eight league matches this season.

When asked whether he feared for his job after yet another cowed, nervy, uninspired showing by his side, Van Gaal, replied: "I cannot answer that.

“I don’t know, but it was a poor performance, of course, because football is not only defending but creating chances and we didn’t create any chance.”

It was not so much the defeat as the manner of it that dismayed the home support, and the match was played to a gathering soundtrack of anger in the stands, with a chorus of boos ringing the ears of Van Gaal and his players as they left the pitch.

“It was a poor game for the fans,” admitted Van Gaal. “I cannot change feelings, only work hard with the players. That is what I am doing. I put a question: how can we change this? That is my job. It is not an easy job.”

Adding that he thought United’s players may have been put off their stride by the sight of the fullback Matteo Darmian spitting blood after sustaining a rib injury, Van Gaal expressed his own frustration at his side’s inability to seize on the momentum of victory at Anfield last week.

“That’s the question,” he said. “When you have these results it has to give you more confidence. But also your opponent makes it more difficult, but I had the impression we could have done it better today.”

With Telegraph