Jose Mourinho has played down his decision to drop Wayne Rooney for Manchester United's clash with champions Leicester City at Old Trafford this afternoon.
The 30-year-old captain was named among the substitutes today as Jesse Lingard earned a start alongside Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata as support for Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front.
"Rashford plays and Lingard plays," Mourinho told Sky Sports News before the game. "I knew that the question would be about Rooney, but I think the question should be about Lingard and Rashford, two young English players in the starting lineup.
"[They start] because they are quick, because the game is going to be intense and fast, the way they play the way they will stretch the game. I think when our main striker is Zlatan, in our vision we need today fast people to surround him. These two kids normally, they are kids that bring intensity to the game."
Asked if the decision to omit Rooney was merely an objective one, Mourinho replied: "Depends on the way you approach it. Because obviously the last thing I want to do as a manager is hurt players or create negative situations for them.
"In normal circumstances with normal media in a normal football country, I would say that with 23 players and lots of matches, Rooney played the last match with 90 minutes. [So we use] fresh players. If Rooney doesn't play today that means he [might] play the next one. It's a normal decision."
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Neil Wilkes
