Jose Mourinho has confirmed that there will be minimal changes to the Manchester United starting eleven for the FA Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho has admitted that he is treating the FA Cup very seriously in his debut season at Manchester United. The Red Devils are, after all, the current holders of the prestigious domestic cup competition.
The Portuguese admitted in the pre-match conference to not focusing on the FA Cup during his latest time at Chelsea and that he is ready to learn from his mistakes. And even though Mourinho confirmed that there will be changes to the lineup as he rotates his squad but that it will be minimal as he aims to take the FA Cup very seriously.
“ I’m going to change a few players obviously but I’m going with a good team because I respect the competition a lot,” the Reds boss explained. If I lose, I lose because the opponent was better or because we didn’t play well, but I’m not going to throw it away. I go to Blackburn with respect.”
“ We’ve played already Reading and Wigan from the Championship so it’s not new for us, the level of the Championship, the difficulty of the Championship. The lower league teams are getting better and better and better. And the fact we’re away this time means I will go serious into this game. Manchester United demands that you go serious to every game.”
Michael Carrick, who missed the Saint Etienne fixture in the midweek due to a slight muscular problem, could return to the lineup on Sunday. United do not have much injury concerns to address except for James Wilson, who is a definite absentee.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is in the squad and could be set to feature at some point in the game, if not from the start, while Paul Pogba could be handed a rest by the Portuguese. Mourinho, though, touched on the topic of Luke Shaw after his lack of game time since returning to fitness has seen him being linked with an exit from the club.
He said, as per Daily Mail,“ He has had a couple of small injuries this season and needs to adapt. He knows what I like in a defender, he knows that I like stability, that I don’t like mistakes, that for me it is to trust a player totally and he has to work to get it. And when he is on the pitch again he has to try to give me that step by step because he is still only a young player.”
“Sometimes people forget he is only a young player with a lot to learn but I like the player and I like the boy. He will be here for sure. It (leaving) is out of the question.”