Mourinho tells Martial: Flop and you’re out
JOSE MOURINHO will use today’s FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic as an opportunity to gauge whether Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw can resurrect their Manchester United careers.
Mourinho has pencilled in both players, as well as understudy goalkeeper Sergio Romero and captain Wayne Rooney, to start against the Championship side, who are managed by long-time United reserve-team manager Warren Joyce.
However, with Martial’s Old Trafford future on the line after starting just nine of the club’s 22 Premier League games this season, Mourinho has made it clear another poor performance would push the 21-year-old down the pecking order.
The United manager warned: ‘Martial plays [against Wigan]. I am looking for him to guarantee a place for the next match. If he plays really well, obviously he stays in. If he doesn’t play well, I have other choices.
‘I have other players for the same positions. Against Hull on Thursday, I played Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, the game before I played Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. They have to fight between themselves and win positions with their performances.’
Martial was a big hit last season under Louis van Gaal after a surprise £36million move from Monaco which could rise as high as £58m. But he has struggled since Euro 2016, when France failed to win the trophy on home soil.
Mourinho has hit out at Martial’s agent amid speculation he was trying to push for a transfer and has become frustrated with the forward failing to play to his ability. ‘He has great conditions to become a top player,’ said Mourinho.
There will also be a chance for England left-back Shaw, who hasn’t played since November after missing most of last season with a broken leg.
Shaw, 21, is worried about being part of Mourinho’s long-term plans though he is determined to try and win the manager over.
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ashley Young may also feature. World Cup-winner Schweinsteiger has stuck it out at Old Trafford after being told to train with the reserves at the start of the season and Mourinho confirmed the German will win back his place in United’s Europa League squad following the sales of Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay.
Young, 31, has grown disenchanted after feeling Mourinho had indicated he would get more first-team football, but a loan move or transfer depends on United having to help out with his estimated £120,000-a-week wages.
United lost their 17-game unbeaten run at Hull even though a 2-1 defeat in the EFL Cup semi-final allowed them to progress to a Wembley final, where they will face Southampton.
Defender Phil Jones admits the sluggish display against one of the Premier League’s bottom-three sides was a wake-up call with United now on a run of three games without a win.
‘The Hull result was not what we wanted,’ said Jones. ‘We were delighted to be through to a Wembley final but we weren’t happy with ourselves. That took the gloss off it a bit.
‘We conceded another sloppy goal. It takes some character to go on a long unbeaten run and to throw it away was so disappointing. I’m devastated.’
He added: ‘We set our standards high. It’s not enough just to win a cup. We need to do more, we need to be pushing for more trophies.’