Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has suggested that Anthony Martial has plenty of work to do if he wants to regain a spot in the first team.
The Frenchman has been inconsistent this season, starting just nine Premier League games and coming off the bench in four.
The 21-year-old, who has scored just two top-flight goals in this campaign, was not included in the matchday squad for last weekend's 1-1 draw with Stoke City.
Now, Mourinho has claimed that there are plenty of players in Martial's position, suggesting that the Frenchman faces an uphill struggle to break back into the first XI.
"I don't think he lost his focus," The Guardian quotes Mourinho as saying. "I just think he didn't catch with both hands a big opportunity he had. When we spoke about Memphis Depay [leaving United] we spoke about it being the only position where we have an over-booking of players.
"We have still five players for this position. I cannot give one player chances to play and kill the others. To kill the others, I think I already did that with Memphis by considering him the last option and by not giving him any option. But with the other guys I think you would be asking me why Mata is not playing or why Marcus Rashford doesn't have a chance, or why Jesse Lingard, a national team player, is not playing.
"We have Rashford, Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan and Martial, and I cannot give the same player chance after chance after chance and not consider the effort of the others. Anthony played against Liverpool, a big match for us and a big match for him, too. Then the next game I went to Mata and Mkhitaryan. This is the situation."
Meanwhile, United are preparing for this evening's EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Hull City.
The Red Devils head into the clash at the KCOM Stadium with a two-goal lead.
Danielle Joynson
