Jose declares: ‘Wayne’s still my man!’
JOSE MOURINHO dropped Wayne Rooney – then guaranteed he still has a big future at Manchester United by insisting: “He’s my man!”
Mourinho, under pressure after losing three of the last four games, left his skipper out of the starting line-up against Leicester City and saw his team romp to a 4-0 half-time lead.
But the Portuguese afterwards launched a staunch defence of the England striker.
“He’s a big player for me, a big player for United and a big player for his country,” said Mourinho.
“I trust him. He’s my man. I have nothing else to say.
“He’s as happy as I am at the moment because his United team won.
“He’s my captain and my captain is my captain whether he’s on the pitch or he’s at home.
“We thought that against Leicester’s defenders the best solution was to play with two fast kids in Rashford and Lingard, with Mata in a position where he could interact with them.
“It was important to have fast people on the pitch to recover against a team that is very direct and counter-attacks so well.
“When I don’t play Rashford or Lingard you ask me why. You always prefer to ask why someone is not playing, not why they are.
“Sometimes when I read what you write I think I know nothing about football but one thing I do know is that I can only start 11.”
Mourinho refused to acknowledge that his changes – Marouane Fellaini and Luke Shaw were also dropped – were why United won the game so convincingly.
“I think the result was not because of the changes but because we started very well and didn’t stop until we closed the game,” he said.
“It was the first time we’ve started well. Our second halves are normally much better than the first.”
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri also made a big call when he substituted star men Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez at half-time.
He explained that, with the game effectively lost, it was to save them for Tuesday’s Champions League game against Porto.
“I decided it much better to keep Mahrez and Vardy for the next match,” he said. “I think they understood. I told them to rest and change.
“After the first goal we lost our confidence and our strength.
“We are a good team when we play together. This is a very good lesson for us because when you concede a goal it’s important to stay calm because sooner or later you can score.
“If we lose it’s important to maintain our mentality and shape because that’s our strength.
“You can’t play alone. You need to play with 11.
“Now we have to recharge our batteries, forget this defeat and look forward. We have to react and show we’re ready to fight.”