JOSE SNAPS BACK
Rooney and Giggs don’t understand Pogba, says Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO says Manchester United legends Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs are confused about Paul Pogba.
The pair waded into the debate over Pogba’s best position this week after the 24-year- old was dropped to the bench for last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield.
On his Sky Sports punditry debut, Rooney categorised Pogba as a box-to-box midfielder while insisting he needed the freedom to ‘cause mayhem’. Giggs, the Wales manager, wants to see Pogba on the left in a three-man midfield.
‘I had a few laughs because I heard, I watched,’ said United manager Mourinho. ‘I got confused with comments from important people in football.
‘Box-to-box means you defend well, have the physical condition to go to the other box, where you have to be good at scoring, creating and, when your team lose the ball, go to the other box.
‘Now people say a box-to-box has to play free of defensive duties. That’s a box in the box and stay in the box and don’t move from the box! People get confused but between me and Paul there is no confusion. He’s a midfield player. That’s it.’
Everton forward Rooney was praised for his punditry work this week, though Roy Hodgson, his former England boss, advised the 32-year-old to steer clear of a TV career and become a manager.
‘You have to hope English football is telling people like him, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry to stay in football. We want them to be coaches and managers,’ said the Palace boss.
Mourinho said defender Luke Shaw is set for a new contract, United having already taken up a one-year option on the deal due to run out this year.
Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez has said he came to Manchester United ‘to win everything’.
Interviewed by fellow former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry, Sanchez, who came close to joining rivals City in the summer, told Sky Sports: ‘I left Arsenal because I wanted to develop and learn as a player, and experience a new club.
‘Manchester United are a huge club on the global stage. I came here to win everything. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come here.’