Jose Mourinho urges Anthony Martial to improve his game to become regular in Manchester United's starting XI

Anthony Martial has not replicated his debut season form at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho.

Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial moved to Manchester United from AS Monaco in the summer of 2015 Reuters

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has issued a warning to Anthony Martial and has advised the forward to improve his game in order to become a regular in his starting lineup.

The France international was not part of the squad during the Red Devils' 1-1 draw in the Premier League to Stoke City and the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hull City in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.

Martial was handed a started against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round tie at Old Trafford. The former AS Monaco forward was impressive for United as he had two assists to his name as he saw his side seal a comfortable 4-0 win over the Championship side.

United will host Hull in the Premier League clash on 1 February. The former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager admitted he was convinced with Martial's display, only for him to include him on the bench.

"He has done enough to be on the. He has to perform better than the others who are competing for the same positions," Mourinho told Sky Sports.

Another star performer in United's win over Wigan was Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Mourinho has admitted that it will be tough for him to drop the Armenian international form the starting lineup to face Marco Silva's side.

"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," United manager said.

"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."

This article was first published on February 1, 2017
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