Droppable Rooney enjoys no 'privileges', insists Mourinho

Blaming Wayne Rooney's disappointing form for the criticism he attracted when playing for England against Slovakia, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that the skipper doesn't enjoy any privileges and can be dropped from the team.

Mourinho, who is under the scanner after United slumped to three successive defeats last week, would not, unlike his predecessor Louis van Gaal, guarantee Rooney a starting place.

The Portuguese is considering leaving the 30-year-old out of Saturday's game against Leicester City and has made it clear that Rooney no longer enjoys the "privileges" as skipper he used to under van Gaal.

"He is our captain, but of course, no privilege - he is like anyone else," the Guardian quoted Mourinho as saying.

"He is my captain, he is the club captain, the players' captain and that is difficult because sometimes you are the club captain because you have lots of years in the club, sometimes you are the manager's captain because the manager likes you very much, sometimes you are the players' but not the manager's one," he added.

The 53-year-old however, praised the England skipper, saying he, like other players in the team, trusts Rooney.

Mourinho, though, believes that Rooney's form has dipped since he was heavily slammed for his performance in the 2018 World Cup qualifier with Slovakia earlier this month which England won 1-0 with a late goal.

"Honestly, I think there was a Wayne before the Slovakia-England and a Wayne after the Slovakia-England," Mourinho said.

Rooney, who had earlier said that he didn't pay any attention to outside criticism of his form, has failed to sparkle in the two Premier League defeats United suffered last week.