Mourinho to drop United flops for Wembley

Jose Mourinho has decided to axe some underperforming stars for the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham in the wake of Manchester United’s alarming loss to West Brom.

A season-defining week kicked off in embarrassing fashion on Sunday as Jay Rodriguez fired the beleaguered Baggies to their first Premier League win in three months, sealing the title for Manchester City in the process.

It was a meek display, in stark contrast to the way United roared backed to victory at the Etihad Stadium the previous weekend – a result of what Mourinho believes was overconfidence and complacency.

The United boss has now vowed to drop some big names ahead of Saturday’s Wembley semifinal against Spurs, with changes also in mind for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth.

“Rotating is not the right word,” Mourinho said of his approach at the Vitality Stadium. “If I play a player against Bournemouth and the player is phenomenal, he plays the semi-final.

“So it is not rotating because rotating looks like a player that plays against Bournemouth is to give a rest to somebody that is going to play in the semi-final.

“So, the word is not rotation, it is an opportunity for people, for some people to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs – and some of the guys that played today, they don’t have a place in that team.”

Asked to clarify if he meant that some of those who under-performed against West Brom will now not play against Tottenham, Mourinho retorted: “Yeah.

“So, the word is not rotation, it is an opportunity for people”