Jose Mourinho reveals who will start against Southampton, speaks out on De Gea’s contract situation and on Fellaini. Press conference

Manchester United are aiming for a first win in a three-top-flight outing against Southampton on Saturday in their Premier League match. Ahead of the game Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho has faced the press. Jose Mourinho has been speaking about opportunities and has said that Diogo Dalot will start tomorrow: “The opportunities will always come. Phil Jones was not playing. Lindelof got injured and Jones had the opportunity to play against Young Boys. It will happen all over the place I believe. For the other game Luke Shaw was suspended and now we have Ashley Young with four yellow cards. Who knows when the fifth is arriving? Players must be ready. In this case, some are going away to the medical room and some are coming back. For example, this weekend will be the first call for Dalot. He is ready now. He had an important injury, surgery, then a second injury in the national team when he was coming up when he was already playing against Young Boys and Derby County, when he was almost here. But now he has been training for two weeks and we think he is ready now.” David de Gea’s contract option will be taken by the club. Mourinho has said they are keen to tie him down: “Board wants him to stay. The manager wants him to stay. He wants to stay. The agent will let him think and decide himself. The only point is to agree on the contract. My feeling is that it will finish well.” Mourinho’s side which is currently seven bidding to claw their way back into contention for the top-four. “We need points We want to improve our position in the table, we want to close the gap to the top four, we want to be smelling these positions, if not there behind, then just smelling for the second part of the season,” said Mourinho. “But everybody for different reasons need points, so it’s not like we go to Southampton and they don’t nee points. It’s not just one team for high level of motivation. So we’re going to have a very difficult match against a team that I know are not going to have any problems, the team, the squad is good, the club has bee very well organised for many many years, so they are not going to stay in that part of a table for a long time, so a difficult match for us.” More from the press conference Why are United so inconsistent? I feel that in some matches the way we start is not that intense, emotional, aggressive way where I would like the team to start, other times like for example against Young Boys we had that start I imagine what the game could be after 10 minutes the result 2-0. Sometimes it’s because of efficiency. We don’t score chances that we have and chances, in this case, goals have a huge impact in the way the game goes, obviously Young Boys wouldn’t defend the way they did if after 10 mins they are losing 2-0, sometimes is because of efficiency, other times it is because of the way we approach the game, and obviously it’s a little confusing, because all of the work is based on strong starts and being intense and aggressive since the beginning.” Can young boys win give United momentum? I hope so but we are, if somebody cannot complain about the mentality, desire and belief are us. I don’t think many clubs in the country and abroad wins so many matches and so many points in extra time. Just going to the Champions League, we did four additional points in extra time, two against Juventus and two against Young Boys. Also in the Premier League, we had Bournemouth, Newcastle, so we cannot complain about that part of our game. And I always think that the goal we conceded against Chelsea, you feel it deeply because you don’t deserve and you are not expecting that, the goals you score in the last minutes should also be a special feeling, a special moment and like you say to influence a good future. Mourinho on Fellaini I think now he’s getting [the credit], I think until I came probably no but I think now everyone gives him what he deserves. Everybody knows Marouane is not Maradona but everyone knows what Marouane is and what he can give. At this moment, especially this season and also last season he did many times what strikers couldn’t do which is score goals in important moments. I know him very well and I know the positions he can play, the jobs he can do, this season you saw him as a third central defender against Burnley and you saw him as a striker and as a number eight, which is basically the position where Marouane has more balance and know how but he’s very important in both boxes, in the first third and in the last third. Now people know what Marouane is and he also feels that good feeling. De Gea's save in midweek I think David’s performance you have to say for 92 mins to be David there or myself would be the same, I can kick as well as him and zero saves, zero shots, to be David or myself would be the same. Don’t say it was an amazing performance, it was a zero performance with a save that only the best goalkeeper in the world can make and that’s a fair analysis of his performance. He didn’t touch the ball and against Crystal Palace, he didn’t touch the ball. When he needs to touch the ball he’s the best, he’s the best.

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