Man Utd stars BLASTED by Jose Mourinho for lack of quality and mental strength

Posted Thursday, May 10, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Man Utd stars BLASTED by Jose Mourinho for lack of quality and mental strength
Jose Mourinho has criticised members of his squad

JOSE MOURINHO has accused some of his Manchester United stars of lacking mental strength.

Mourinho reckons United's inconsistency this season – they are the only team to lose to each of the three promoted clubs – indicates some players cannot reproduce the level of performance week-by-week needed to recapture the title from neighbours City.

He didn't mention names but it would appear to be a damning indictment of players like Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian – and even Paul Pogba, who has been inconsistent this season.

Asked if it was a question of quality or mindset that United needed to improve, he said: "Both. How many points separate us from Manchester City? Not two, three or four. A lot of points.

"When you lose against all the teams that were promoted, it doesn't smell right for me. We need both things. Some of the people we have, they have to be more consistent in their performance and we need more quality.

"I trust some more than others that can bridge that [mentality] gap. That's normal. I know the players. I worked with the players for a couple of years. I know them better than anyone.

"And, of course, some of the players I am totally convinced are going to make it, some others I have good hopes that they are going to make it and some others I don't believe they are going to make it."

Mourinho admits he doesn't "love" some of his players from a football point of view but is stuck with them because he needs a big squad.

He added: "Of course we you have to keep them. Unless there is a perfect squad, where you buy one goalkeeper you don't like then you buy another one, you buy a central defender you don't like then you buy another one.

"Unless you can do that, and you go in the direction of the perfect squad, you have to keep players you don't love – when I say love, I say it footballistically – and players you don't totally believe have the level of the squad.

"In my squad, I have some players where I would like to have better than what I have. That's basic."

Mourinho continues to sweat over the fitness of Romelu Lukaku for the FA Cup final a week on Saturday after his leading scorer was ruled out of their last two League games – at West Ham next and Watford on Sunday – as he continues his battle to recover from an ankle injury.