Boss issues warning to uncommitted players
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has criticized the bravery of some of the players in his squad.
Mourinho’s fielded a very experienced team to face Swansea on Sunday, as Michael Carrick and Phil Jones were handed their first Premier League starts of the season while Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young were also brought in for a 3-1 win at the Liberty Stadium.
Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were all missing from the United squad for the trip, with Mourinho revealing that Shaw informed him in the morning that he wasn’t in the right condition to start the game.
Mourinho told MUTV before the game in south Wales: “Smalling doesn’t feel that he can play 100 per cent with his pain.
“Luke Shaw told me this morning that he was not in the condition to play so we had to build a defensive line.”
“There is a difference between the brave that will be there at any cost and the ones that a little pain can make a difference,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“Great football people – great sportspeople – many, many times play without being 100 per cent. For the team you have to do anything – that’s my way of saying. If one day I meet the big ones [players] of this club who have had great success – for sure, they are going to tell me that many times they put their bodies on the line even with pains everywhere.
“It’s not just the players but it’s the people that surround the players. It will take time to change [the mentality] but with the help of players like Phil Jones, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney, it will be a possible mission.”
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10
