Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho delivered his media briefing at the Jimmy Murphy Centre ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Saints.
The Old Trafford boss talked about his team's current form, Lukaku's incredible personality and lots more.
Here are some talking points from Mourinho's media briefing..
PREPARATIONS FOR SOUTHAMPTON
“We just try to recover. With so many injured players that we have the group is so small at this time, so it’s just about rest.
Even going a little bit to the indoor [pitch] hoping that no more flu or any more problems apart from the injuries. So it’s just about trying to protect players.”
TEAM NEWS
The boss admitted he’s unable to give top scorer Romelu Lukaku a rest but told MUTV he doesn’t expect any of his injured players to return against Southampton. Marcos Rojo is available despite initial fears he would be suspended after picking up a fifth booking of the season against Burnley.
CAN ZLATAN AND LUKAKU PLAY TOGETHER?
"It can happen but for it to happen, they both need to be in their best moment and they are not. One is not because the situation in this team didn't allow him to have any rest and Zlatan is a man with an incredible injury. We did that against Burnley and we will do that in some more matches if we need to do it, but I think we really need them to be at their best level."
JOSE GRATEFUL TO 'FANTASTIC' LUKAKU
“I think for any player to play 90 minutes in 20 Premier League matches is absolutely incredible. I have to be very grateful for his personality and for his character.
He was in the picture, I'm not saying he was a direct influence, in some of the last goals we conceded. It's a consequence of a player who really needs a little rest. But he's fantastic for me and the team."
PLEASED WITH DISPLAYS IN LAST TWO GAMES
Despite successive 2-2 draws against Leicester and Burnley, the boss was happy with the team’s performances but feels there’s room for improvement. He said: “I think we played very well in both matches, probably the frustration is big because we played so well but we made mistakes that cost us the points in both matches. We played very offensive, in a very creative way and gave freedom to the players. We didn't score enough goals in relation to what we created."
THOUGHTS ON THE TRANSFER WINDOW
The boss feels clubs must be prepared to spend a lot of money to land players because of the modern market, as Liverpool agree a £75million fee with Southampton for Virgil van Dijk. He said: “The reality is if they think the player is right for them and they really want the player, they pay this amount or they don't have the player because that's the way the market is at this time."
MORE ON THE MARKET
“Now you are going to say, Virgil van Dijk [is] the most expensive defender in the history of football. Was he better than [Paolo] Maldini or was he better than [Giuseppe] Bergomi or was he better than [Rio] Ferdinand? You cannot say that. It's just the way the market is and you pay or you don't pay.
If you pay, obviously you pay a crazy amount of money. But if you don't pay, you don't have the player and it's as simple as that, so no critics at all. It's just the way it is."
Source: www.manutd.com
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