Rooney fears he will get the chop

LONDON: Wayne Rooney fears he will be axed by Jose Mourinho for today’s clash with Leicester.

The Manchester United boss has tried everything to turn around Rooney’s form, without success.

And Mourinho now plans to trial both Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the No. 10 role in training ahead of the Old Trafford showdown with Claudio Ranieri’s champions.

Rooney is creaking under the weight of expectation and the Special One is tempted to put him on the bench.

Mourinho has played the England captain in a variety of roles this season.

He started as the main striker in Wednesday’s English League Cup clash at Northampton but drew another blank against the League One outfit.

And now Pogba, Mkhitaryan – or even Juan Mata – could push him out of the side.

Responding to the criticism, Rooney said: “That’s football, I think.

“We don’t win in three games and, of course, everyone is going to talk about it.

“We had a bad week, a bad eight days where we’ve lost three games, and it’s important now we react well to that and come through that.

“I have to focus, work hard, of course, and I’ve done that throughout my career.

“I’ve worked hard and tried to do my best for the team. I’ve done that (played in different positions) throughout my career.

“I feel I can play in all positions but I think the manager has made it clear either I’ll play up front or in the No. 10 and that’s where he sees me playing.

“As I said before, it’s not just myself – the whole team is going in and working hard.

“We had a bad week but we’ve been working hard to put that right.”