Jose Mourinho Issues Ultimatum To Anthony Martial Concerning His Recent Form

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has issued a thinly-veiled ultimatum to young French winger Anthony Martial to rediscover the form of last season or face a potential spell out of the club's first team, because of the fierce competition for places, 90min reports.

Martial has struggling to play at the level that endeared him to United fans in his first season at the club, but Mourinho - speaking at his Friday press conference ahead of Sunday's game with West Ham - has publicised that there are a number of players ready and willing to step in should his performances not improve.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan made a statement that he was ready for first team action with his performance against Feyenoord on Thursday, while Mourinho has also named several other stars ready to play in the attacking midfield positions.

He said:

"The way the team played last season - and I'm not saying better or worse, just different - was probably more adapted to Anthony.

"Probably he was feeling more comfortable playing that way, at that intensity, at that rhythm of the ball possession and ball circulation. So probably he needs also some time.

"But in our squad, for these positions, we have Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Memphis Depay, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Martial. These are probably the positions where we have more options.

"And, you have one opportunity, you have two, you have three - if you don't bite, then somebody comes and takes the meat. They are friends, they are colleagues, they work together every day, but in the end they compete between themselves to have more chances to play."

Mourinho's side are 9 points off league leaders Chelsea and six points off the top four following last weekend's draw with Arsenal, but he remains confident that the gaps can be made up.

He added:

"You can recover points. Other teams can lose points. During the season, there are moments where everything goes against you and where everything goes in your favour.

"We know that the game is not over - but the reality is that there is a distance, and there are many quality teams. It's a very difficult competition, but let's go match by match and see what happens."