Mourinho tells Martial that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is ahead of him

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anthony Martial still has work to do to convince Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho he is worthy of a regular starting place in his Premier League line-up, SkySports reports.

Martial has endured a difficult season since Mourinho's arrival, scoring just twice so far, and that led to speculation he might leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window.

No move materialised, but Mourinho said the Frenchman still has some way to go if he is to regain his trust and insists Henrikh Mkhitaryan is ahead of him in the pecking order.

"He has done enough to be on the bench," said Mourinho ahead of Wednesday, February 1's clash at home to Hull. "He has to perform better than the others who are competing for the same positions.

"His position is one where we have lots of options. Do you want me to leave Mkhitaryan out after being man of the match [against Wigan in the FA Cup] and playing so well as he did? I can't.

"The players pick themselves. I am just there to analyse what they do and try to be fair with them. Such a good performance, Mkhitaryan has to play [against Hull]. Simple."