Manchester United: What Jose Mourinho really said about four of his own players

Mourinho has singled out Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as not having quite what he requires

Jose Mourinho has admitted that some of his Manchester United players lack the "character" and "personality" he wants.

The United manager has endured a difficult start to the season and has been openly critical of some of his charges during that tricky run.

Now, in an interview with Univision, he has singled out Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford as not having quite what he requires.

However, he has not - as has been initially translated - called their "behaviour" into question.

“They are lacking maturity. When I say that, I mean maturity at a personal level. We [talking to interviewer Hristo Stoichkov] are more men, we are more mature, we were more prepared to face life," he said.

"We were less protected. In England, they call it ‘spoilt’. Today, we’re talking about ‘spoilt kids’. Our children are more ‘spoilt’ than we were.

“I think kids these days have a different social life than us, and players have around them an ‘entourage’, and I mean a personal entourage, the people that surround them, that protect them more, give them more affection, more excuses. They reach maturity more slowly.

"For example, this kid, Luke Shaw, who is currently the national team’s left-back, when I arrived here two years ago, he didn’t know how to compete. He had great potential, yes, but he didn’t know how to compete.

"When we talk about Luke Shaw, Martial, Lingard, Rashford, we’re talking about kids with great potential but still lack a word I can’t say but that you like a lot… they lack a bit of that.

"Character, personality, as they say in Spain as well, bad blood, that natural aggression that you had."