Mourinho hopes Rooney stays at Manchester United and Shaw proves his worth
Posted Saturday, March 04, 2017 by PA
Jose Mourinho had Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw on his mind on Friday, with the Manchester United manager hoping his captain remains at Old Trafford next season and that the left-back proves his worth.
United will look to build on last week's EFL Cup triumph against Southampton when they return to Premier League matters against Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime.
Neither Rooney or Shaw managed to get on to the pitch at Wembley but both are in the squad this weekend, with Mourinho clearly keen to get a point across about them in Friday's press conference.
The smiling United boss joked that the England pair's respective futures would dominate the agenda before a question had even been asked, then gave a four-minute monologue about them and last weekend's EFL Cup win.
"So Wayne Rooney to Everton," he said, referring to this week's reports.
"I only can say that in the final with the result 2-2, with the team in difficulties, with the team possibly going to play 40 more minutes, Rooney was ready to go into the pitch.
"So he's not the player that you play in the last minute or give a gift to be in the winning final, it is a player you trust, and you are going to play, probably your crucial change which is the last one.
"He is selected for tomorrow with possibilities to play obviously, start or be on the bench and come in.
"Since the moment he decided to stay and to help the team and to fight for Manchester United, he's an important player for us.
"And I think by giving you these two details, I'm telling you all the talk about Everton for me makes nonsense."
Shaw was not even in the squad against his former club at Wembley, just days after Mourinho said he was now United's fourth-choice left-back.
The Portuguese laid down the gauntlet to the 21-year-old and could now reward him with a first Premier League appearance since October, confirming he is in the squad to face Bournemouth.
"Luke Shaw, I have good news for you," Mourinho said.
"He is selected for tomorrow so you won't need to have the guys at The Lowry to take pictures of who is selected and make the list.
"He's in the list for tomorrow, so one step up from not being selected, not being in the final even on the bench.
"Like Wayne he's selected, so playing or being on the bench, he becomes again an option to us.
"Luke is working hard, he's trying to improve.
"He improved by the physical point of view, I can say, for sure, with good dedication, good specific work and now obviously he needs some opportunities to feel alive, he needs opportunities to play."
Manager Eddie Howe is confident Bournemouth are ready to "defy the odds" again by preserving their place in the Premier League.
The Cherries slumped to a fourth straight league defeat at West Brom last weekend and have not won since beating Swansea 3-0 away on New Year's Eve.
Such a poor run of form has left Bournemouth just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Howe, though, believes his players have what it takes to regroup and make sure a positive first half of the campaign is not allowed to fade away.
"When you look at our recent history, sometimes we have to take a moment just to think and reflect and look back (on what we have achieved), because those things are from where you get your strength," Howe said.
"When you think of recent times, the situations this club has been, which these players have been in - it has not been a bed of roses for a lot of their careers.
"There have been some hard moments, me included, and it is in these situations where you just have to reflect and say, 'Okay, let's draw strength from all those past experiences, refocus and go again'.
"We have always tried to defy the odds here and we will have to do that again, so we need to be very strong as a group."
Bournemouth may have to produce their performance of the season if they are to leave Old Trafford with a positive result.
Mourinho's men have lost only two fixtures since November.
Although the Cherries have never beaten United away from home, Howe sees no reason to go into the match with any sense of trepidation.
"We have worked the players hard this week and we are excited by this game," Howe said in his pre-match press conference.
"You can only be positive, there is no other way to approach this game or any other game."
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