Reporter:

How difficult will it be for them on Monday now, going to West Ham?

 

Jose Mourinho:

You know, difficult for us, difficult for West Ham. Difficult for both. We play at the same time. We finish the game both at the same time. We had difficult matches both, they couldn’t rest players, we didn’t rest players. The intensity of the game was very high for them for sure - against Leicester, for sure. And for us the same, and now we have 48 hours to play so difficult for all of us.

 

Reporter:

Do you expect changes in the starting XI for Monday?

 

Jose Mourinho:

Bailly is leaving, Bailly goes to the national team. He has to be in the national team on the 2nd of January. We ask them for him to be on the 3rd, they refuse so he cannot play against West Ham. I wish Ivory Coast to be champions because with this kind of decisions it’s because they are controlling every second - so for sure they are going to win the African cup.

 

Reporter:

Jose, has Rooney got any chance of being fit, and also, Michael Carrick, who we’re led to believe was out ill today, he was in the stand. Is he going to be okay?

 

Jose Mourinho:

I hope so, I don’t know. I hope so, I don’t know. Rooney has a little chance, and Michael has, I think, a bigger chance than Rooney, let’s see how he is tomorrow. But I’m really happy with Fellaini. I’m really happy with the way he played, I’m really happy with the connection with the fans - I think they realize how useful he is. They realize how much he is with the team. I took him off because I want to give the game a different style of play, I want to bring players to play in short spaces because they were in that time playing with a very low block so I brought fast, creative, agile people: Mata, Rashford, to try - to try to go through these spaces but Marouanne, I’m really happy with him.

 

Reporter:

You swapped both Centre Backs today to a new partnership, was that just because they played together before? And might you go back to say Rojo and Jones again?

 

Jose Mourinho:

Look, I know that I lose Bailly for a month, and I’m going to have Smalling, Rojo, and Jones - three players for I think eight matches, because it’s West Ham, it’s semi-final league cup - Reading, Liverpool, Stoke, West ham, so eight matches with three central defenders so I decide to play Eric. And was good, in the end, was good to have Eric on the pitch because he’s the fastest one; and to play one against one at the back he’s the best because he’s very fast.

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Credit: Full Time Devils - https://youtu.be/_GW9gO7-mJk

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It's pronounced Rojo not Rocko ffs