Jose Mourinho defended his decision to play Anthony Martial instead Alexis Sanchez after a 3-1 loss away to West Ham on Saturday condemned Manchester United to a third defeat in seven Premier League games -- their worst start to a domestic campaign in nearly 30 years.
United have 10 points from seven league games, the last time they started worse was in 1989/90, in the old First Division, though they also collected just 10 points in the first seven games of David Moyes' ill-fated reign. This latest reverse added to the pressure on under-fire manager Mourinho.
"For many months people are asking for Martial," Mourinho told BT Sport about his choice of attackers. "This week it was time to agree and to say let's give a chance to Martial and let's leave Alexis out."
- 'Killed our mentality' -
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The Portuguese boss added: "The third goal killed our mentality because the referee did not see the foul before."
Nevertheless, Mourinho insisted: "I have no complaints with the players' attitude. You have always to try, that's my nature as a football professional."
And a concerned Ferdinand insisted: "There are some big decisions to be made at United now. There will be conversations at the top level, about the future of the manager and the squad, because the basics are not being done. There has to be something said."