Mour should drop Roo and Ibra

> Neville instead wants Mkhitaryan, Martial and Rashford to lead the forward line

GARY NEVILLE insists Jose Mourinho should line Manchester United up without Wayne Rooney or Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The former Manchester United right back picked his ideal XI from Mourinho’s squad and went for pace up top.

Neville picked a front three of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to lead the line.

Neville also chose Daley Blind ahead of under fire Luke Shaw but kept faith in Chris Smalling to partner Eric Bailly at the back.

Shaw and Smalling have been accused of being to soft for United with Mourinho questioning their mentality and ability to play through pain.

It has since emerged that Smalling has a broken toe.

United have had a mixed start to life under Mourinho and are sixth in the table after 11 games.

Their win over Swansea last week was their first since September’s victory over Leicester.

And Neville today had his say on the team he’d pick if he was in charge.

He said: “Well, David De Gea is the easy one in goal. I would then pick Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and probably Daley Blind at leftback at this moment in time.

“I would then have Paul Pogba to the left in midfield, Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera in there. Then ahead of them, I’d have Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the right and then....Anthony Martial to the left and Marcus Rashford up front.”

On Rashford, Neville added: “When I see Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard on the pitch, it makes me feel proud that Manchester United can be true to itself and its principles.”

Neville acknowledged that United have struggled to fill the void left behind bySir Alex Ferguson but feels the club should treat Jose Mourinho the same as Ferguson

While it has been clear for all to see, Neville admits it was always going to happen.

The Scot left Manchester United in 2013, having won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles.

Since Ferguson’s departure, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal have tried their luck at bringing regular silverware to Old Trafford but have failed to reach the level expected.

Mourinho is undergoing a difficult time at the helm now too, with United sixth in the table, eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool already.

The Portuguese boss has been critical of his players in public in recent weeks with the likes of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling being dealt some harsh warnings.

In comparison, Ferguson was well known for giving his players a dressing down behind closed doors.

But despite their differences, Neville reckons Mourinho should be given the same amount of time to prove himself as what Ferguson got when he first arrived in Manchester.

“United floundering was always going to happen after Ferguson. The control he had over the club and the aura he has about him left a void,” Neville said. Wayne Rooney (left) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic

“His press conferences always felt like more of a message to his players than to the media and you would buy into what he said.

“Fergie was given time and the opportunity to grow and stabilise the club when he came. Now, United keep chasing immediate success.

“But football is the only business I know where the employers have more power than the boss. Failure can’t just be blamed on the manager.” – Express Newspapers