Thursday 22 February 2018 10:13, UK
Gordon Strachan says Paul Pogba was dropped by Jose Mourinho because of his poor form, not because the Manchester United manager was trying to prove a point.
The club's record signing was named on the bench for Wednesday night's Champions League last-16 clash in Sevilla, after he missed Saturday's FA Cup win over Huddersfield through illness.
Pogba has been substituted in two of Manchester United's last three Premier League games - and was named on the bench for the other - after an indifferent run of form, but he ended up playing 73 minutes in Wednesday's goalless draw in Spain after an early injury to Ander Herrera.
But speaking on The Debate, former Manchester United midfielder Strachan backed Mourinho's treatment of the player.
He said: "I don't think that, as a manager, you do that to prove a lesson. You tell them to their face: 'I'm the boss'.
"You don't put your side at risk and put a game at risk, just to say 'I'm the boss'. You tell them to get on with the game and win the game.
"I don't think anybody would use a player and a game to prove a point. You know who's the boss, that's for sure."
He added: "Paul must recognise that he's not playing as well as he could.
"If you recognise that then you've got to say 'I can get dropped'. If you're playing brilliantly you can't get dropped.
"Common sense says if you're not playing well - and we'd all agree he's not come to the standards expected because he's a great player and is still a fantastic player - the manager has every right to leave him out of the team."
Mourinho had planned to start Pogba against Huddersfield at the weekend, but the player informed him on Saturday morning that he was unwell and would not be able to play.
And Strachan, who recently stood down as Scotland manager, said he would always leave those decisions to the medical team, rather than the players themselves.
"The doctor would tell me and report to me," he added.
"I wouldn't like it if a player phoned me in the morning and said 'I'm not well, I'm not coming along'. I'd be right around to his door to see evidence of that.
"That's the kind of thing you do. Sir Alex would have been knocking on the door, saying 'what's up with you?'"
