No room for error, United

League games plus two quarter-final legs against Anderlecht, Mourinho says bodies have to be put on the line and there is no margin for error if they are to finish in the top four.

“One more defeat and maybe we are not in the running any more,” he said.

“In two weeks we’re going to play Chelsea. Before that we play Anderlecht then after Chelsea the return with Anderlecht.

“In 15 days, maybe the Premier League is not important for us, maybe it is. If we keep winning matches, that match against Chelsea is important for us.

“But if we lose matches, Chelsea isn’t important. We want every match to be important until the end.

“If we manage that, to be in the running in two competitions, the boys have to be very resilient, very strong physically, have to cope with everything.

“Just like they did in that week against Rostov, coping with the bad pitch, and then coming back from London by bus. They coped playing against Chelsea with 10 men and coped with Rostov three days later.

“But some bodies felt it. Pogba’s body felt it and had a negative reaction. So we need to be strong and to believe.”

Wayne Rooney, above, is set to return after missing four games with a knee injury. But when Mourinho was asked about Jones and Smalling, both injured on England duty, he said: “Clearly they are long-term injuries.”

West Brom, meanwhile, have offered captain Darren Fletcher a new two-year deal.

United old boy Fletcher has not missed a league game since joining the Baggies in 2015 despite needing surgery for the bowel condition ulcerative colitis during his time at Old Trafford.

“Once he got himself to a level where he knew his fitness would come back it was just a case of him getting a vehicle to drive. That was us and we’re delighted,” said Baggies boss Tony Pulis.