FOCUS ON POG AFTER CUP GLORY

JOSE MOURINHO has told Paul Pogba he must maintain the same focus and intensity for Manchester United that he showed in winning the World Cup with France.

The Reds boss believes the tournament environment was perfect for Pogba, with little to distract him from football.

A perceived lack of focus was a cause of tension between the pair last season, with the club’s £89million record signing dropped for high-profile games as a result.

Asked how he and United could get the best out of Pogba next season, after two underwhelming campaigns since his return from Juventus, Mourinho said: “I don’t think it’s about us getting the best out of him.

“It’s about him giving the best he has to give.

“I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give the best.

“Why? Because it’s closed for a month, where he can only think about football.

“Where he’s with his team on the training camp, completely isolated from the external world, where they focus just on football, where the dimensions of the game can only motivate.

“During a season, you can have a big match then a smaller match, then one even smaller. You can lose your focus, you can lose your concentration, then comes a big match again.

“In the World Cup, the direction of the emotion, of the responsibility, of the big decisions is always growing.

“This feeds the motivation, this feeds the concentration of a player.”