Some players care more than others, says Manchester United's Mourinho

Man United's Paul Pogba (centre) trains with teammates on the eve of their Champions League tie against Valencia yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

Under-fire Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes some of his misfiring squad are hurting more than others as speculation mounts over whether the Portuguese coach's time in charge at Old Trafford is coming to an end.

A third defeat in seven Premier League games at West Ham on Saturday saw United already fall nine points adrift of leaders and fierce rivals Manchester City and Liverpool. Ahead of tonight's Champions League clash with Valencia, Mourinho insisted he doesn't fear for his job but refused to state whether he had met with the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in the past few days.

Man United boss Jose Mourinho

Mourinho also defended his players from accusations of not trying hard enough, but believes some are taking a slump in form more to heart than others. "I think that some care more than others," said Mourinho. "After 20 years of football, I'm still a kid I was. I'm still naive, but I still don't believe that a player is not honest. Until somebody that was a big professional player says 'I was a dishonest player', I will always believe the players are honest and want to give their best."

Mourinho also laughed off speculation he has been contacted by former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, the favourite to replace him in the Old Trafford hot seat if Mourinho is dismissed. A report in The Sun newspaper yesterday claimed Zidane had phoned Mourinho to reassure him the Frenchman isn't plotting to take his job.

When asked about the story, Mourinho turned the tables on the journalist who wrote the story by telling reporters to ask him whether the story was true and joked his phone had been bugged. Zidane resigned as Madrid coach in June after leading the Spanish giants to three consecutive Champions League titles.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever