Media speculation has linked Manchester United with a big money move for Leicester City midfielder Danny Drinkwater, but Ranieri said he was not concerned and sees any interest in his players as a compliment to his team’s achievements.
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The comments will add a certain piquancy to Arsenal trip to Old Trafford on November 19 for Wenger’s first meeting with Mourinho as manager of Manchester United. He’s a champion. I don’t know (whether Rooney would be in his team), I love my players, and I don’t change my players with anybody else. It is completely out of my control.
“We didn’t really get split open as a back four which is positive and it can only stand us in good stead for the League One campaign when you play against those players and they don’t create many chances”.
“But the way we think in the group is everybody is involved in every match, even the ones who are not playing”.
Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney labelled criticism from outside the club as “rubbish” this week, but it hasn’t sat well with certain supporters.
The Portuguese then tried to exploit reported tension between former United coach David Moyes and Rooney by making another attempt – this time as Chelsea boss – in the summer of 2013.
“We are a team, we are not Wayne Rooney”, Mourinho said. “We want to make a very good match Saturday and that’s 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”.
But asked about the critics, Rooney told MUTV: “I think I’ve had that my whole career – a little bit more of late, I think, but that’s football”.
“For me it’s not important the pressure with the others, I want to manage our pressure with my players, we are okay, we manage very well the pressure”.
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Speaking in his news conference on Friday, United manager Mourinho said the injury was a calf problem suffered in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Watford rather than a head injury.
