Mourinho blessed with wing riches

Date published: 22 December 2016


MANCHESTER United manager Jose Mourinho admits he has "bad feelings" about failing to give some members of his squad a fair chance to prove themselves to him.

A number of players, such as Memphis Depay and Ashley Young, have found themselves with restricted pitch time so far this season.

Mourinho pointed to a proliferation of personnel for specific positions as one of the reasons why some people have not been afforded a chance but said it is something which troubles him.

"I still have bad feelings towards myself as I didn't give a real chance to everyone," he said.

"There are some positions in our sport where we have over-booking.

WINGERS

"The attacking wing positions we have not just a few wingers but also people who can play there: we can add (Marcus) Rashford and (Wayne) Rooney to players like (Jesse) Lingard, (Juan) Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Memphis Depay, (Anthony) Martial and Ashley Young.

"To be honest people like Young and Memphis I didn't give them a run of matches for them to prove so I have this little bad feeling."

Despite not being able to properly assess all the players he inherited from Louis van Gaal, Mourinho insists he is happy with the squad he has.

He did not dismiss speculation linking him with a January move for Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelhof, saying he could sign one player next month, but stressed he preferred to do most of his business at the end of the season.

Mourinho also rejected suggestions he was planning a January clear-out, with Everton interested in signing midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and Depay next month.

"In Portugal the front pages say every player in Portugal is coming to Manchester United," added the Portuguese.

"It is normal the connection with me, but I keep saying the same - I like my squad, I want to keep my squad.

"I believe more in the summer market than the winter transfer window as it gives you more stability, more time and more choice.

"Let's see what happens. If we buy a player we buy a player, but we are not buying two, three or four.

"If we open the door for someone to leave, it is not because we push him but because he wants to leave."

Reports also suggested a new contract could be in the offing for Mourinho as officials have been impressed with what he has done this season.

The manager, however, is not aware of it.

"They didn't (offer a new contract) and I'm not expecting them to," he said.