Manchester United news: Jose Mourinho told Wayne Rooney to 'address own form before criticising others'

The incident supposedly took place in a private meeting that followed in the wake of United's 2-1 defeat in the Manchester derby

Rooney's future under Mourinho is now in doubt (Getty)

Jose Mourinho reportedly held a private meeting with captain Wayne Rooney during which he told the Manchester United captain to address his own form before criticising other players.

According to the Sun, Rooney issued some stern words to his team at half-time during their 2-1 defeat by Manchester City two weeks ago.

In a meeting that followed between the two, Mourinho allegedly told the 30-year-old that he cannot complain about other players’ performance when he is not playing well himself.

Rooney’s first-team spot under Mourinho now looks to be in jeopardy after he was dropped by the Portuguese for United’s Premier League clash against champions Leicester on Saturday.

The player has struggled with his form in recent weeks and put in a particularly underwhelming performance against Watford two weekends ago.

But Mourinho suggested that Rooney was dropped in order to enable his team to exploit Leicester’s defensive set-up.

“But we thought against a team like Leicester, the way they defend we thought the best solution for us was to play with the two fast kids (Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard) and (Juan) Mata in a position where he can interact with these fast kids,” he said.

“When our main striker is Zlatan, we need fast people around him. Against Leicester that was the best solution for us.”

Wayne Rooney was subbed on for Marcus Rashford during the 83rd of United's Saturday clash against Leicester (Getty)

Despite being dropped, however, Mourinho has insisted that the former Everton player will continue to remain his club captain.

“My captain is my captain, if he is on the pitch or if he is at home.

“Sometimes I feel like you think I know nothing about football, but I know the rules of the game and can only play 11.

“So until they change the rules, I start with 11.”