“Of course I’m not happy with the start”, Mourinho told his club’s official site.
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“Because you make a relation between the club’s revenue and the money”.
“He continued: “[Pogba was in the] Euro final, no pre-season, holidays.
“Okaka also won’t be available”, the manager, keen to play down his heated rivalry with Mourinho dating back to their respective spells in Serie A but risking ridicule by insisting that he would opt for Roberto Pereyra over Paul Pogba, added.
Squawka report that Kuyt admitted that the pair had spoken following the conclusion of the Europa League game at the De Kuip Stadium, with Pogba complimentary about the Dutchman’s impressive career.
“But I’m full of trust in him because I know the player he is; I know he’s a very good guy with a lot of ambition, so the form will come naturally. The team improves, Paul improves, so no problem”.
Mourinho was at pains to stress that the 23-year-old’s recent difficulties don’t lie in his position.
“We were playing with Wayne Rooney in a No. 10 and today we played with Morgan Schneiderlin in front of the back four”.
Aware that he must turn around United’s fortunes, Mourinho has backed his players to bounce back against Watford this Sunday.
“Tonight, again, wasn’t his best performance”.
“I think he’s trying to do too much now on the ball”.
United has a massive squad, and most of the options are of a high quality, but now is the time to slowly replace the older with the younger and the less effective with the more effective.
“No, no – I think he showed some class today”, he said smiling when asked if the Frenchman was still in his back pocket.
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“He’s trying to beat three or four players”. Then, with match control similar to United’s match against Hull City but with a greater plan, United can use different options for impact; for example, Ibrahimovic can look to drop deep and draw defenders out for runs in behind, or Rashford can pick up the ball in central areas and run forward. They bought a powerful, strong midfield player who can take the ball. Things got worse when Vilhena put the Dutch side ahead with just over ten minutes to play, and though the goal should have been disallowed for offside, Feyenoord were hardly stealing anything.
