Jose Mourinho warns Anthony Martial he is fighting for Manchester United future after failing to take his chances

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Jose Mourinho has warned Anthony Martial his chances are running out at Manchester United.

The Frenchman was dropped for Thursday night’s 4-0 drubbing of Feyenoord despite being fit and watched Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s fleet feet dazzle under the lights.

Martial has not hit the heights of a stunning first campaign at Old Trafford, scoring just once in the Premier League.

Anthony Martial has fallen from the heights of his spectacular debut vs Liverpool last season

It is understood Martial’s personal life and a lack of a summer break have affected his performances.

The 20-year-old was also left disappointed at United handing the No 9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic just as he was planning to trademark ‘Martial 9’.

Martial struggled in the draw with Arsenal last weekend and looks set to be benched after Mkhitaryan’s brilliance in the Europa League.

‘You have one opportunity, you have two, you have three - if you don’t bite then somebody comes and takes the bait,’ Mourinho said. ‘Anthony was OK for Feyenoord. I cannot play with 12 players.

Martial was substituted for Wayne Rooney after 63 minutes in a recent game vs Arsenal

Jose Mourinho suggested Martial was better suited to Louis van Gaal's style of football 

‘The players have to win their positions. They are friends, they are colleagues who work together every day but in the end they compete between themselves to have more chance to play. Anthony played against Arsenal. Thursday was a moment to give Mkhitaryan a chance to start.’

Mourinho is also of the mind that Martial was more suited to Louis van Gaal’s style of play during a season he flourished following the surprising mega-money move from Monaco.

‘The way the team played last season - I’m not saying better or worse, just different - was probably more adaptive to Anthony,’ the Portuguese added.

‘He was probably more comfortable playing that way, at that intensity, that rate of ball possession and ball circulation.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan added to the competition with a man of the match display vs Feyenoord

‘Probably he also needs some time but in our squad, especially in these positions, we have Mkhitaryan, (Jesse) Lingard, (Memphis) Depay, (Juan) Mata, (Marcus) Rashford. These are probably the positions where we have more options.’

Martial’s malaise was further highlighted by Mkhitaryan’s magnificent display, starting for the first time since being hauled off against Manchester City on September 10.

Mourinho still claims the £26million summer signing from Dortmund still needs to learn the Premier League ropes and Zlatan Ibrahimovic commended his professionalism while frozen out.

Mourinho revealed Mkhitaryan had been training very hard in the build up to the Feyenoord tie

‘I know who Mkhi is, I see it every day in training, so hopefully he has showed everybody who he is and he now has the confidence to keep on doing that,’ Ibrahimovic said.

‘He’s a quality player, like every player in the team, but it’s up to the coach who plays in the team. He’s been training very hard. You just have to wait for your chance and, when you get your chance, you need to take it.

‘At the top level you need to deliver. If you don’t deliver, someone will come in and take your place.’