Mourinho on why he dropped Alexis Sanchez against West Ham: I have options

Jose Mourinho simply replied "options" when asked why he has left Alexis Sanchez out of his squad for the Premier League clash with West Ham.

The former Arsenal star has struggled to hit top form ever since joining United in January 2018, with his inconsistent performances continuing at the start of the 2018-19 season.

That has seen Alexis, who is yet to score in the new campaign, left out of the matchday squad to face the Hammers, as Mourinho's side look to bounce back following their home draw with Wolves and Carabao Cup exit to Derby County.

The United boss revealed to BT Sport that Alexis, along with Jesse Lingard, had been left out because he has "options" in his squad.

The absence of Alexis and Lingard means Anthony Martial is given a start in attack, alongside Romelu Lukaku.

There are also starts for Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Marouane Fellaini, with Paul Pogba also returning despite the reported friction between the France World Cup winner and his manager.

Indeed, Mourinho revealed in his pre-match press conference that, while he and Pogba shared a "good" relationship, no player at Manchester United is bigger than the club.

That comes after the Portuguese was filmed in what seemed a heated conversation with the 25-year-old in training following the penalty defeat to Championship side Derby.

Looking at the meeting with West Ham, when asked if it is easier to play away from home at the moment, given recent results, Mourinho replied: "I don't want to say that because I'll be very sad if that's the reality.

"The best thing is to play football with your fans. To play at home is the best thing you can do. And for some reason I have the record of 77 matches unbeaten at home in the Premier League. That's why I love to play at home.

"The results this season were not good at home. We lost to Tottenham, we drew against Wolves and Derby, and we have to try to change that in the next game at home."

United legend Paul Scholes added on the big-name absentees: "He's [Mourinho] probably well within his rights [to drop Alexis] although you'd probably like to see him on the bench if things aren't going well. In the last 20 minutes they [Alexis and Lingard] are players you'd think can score a goal.

"I know Jesse's not scored a goal in quite some time and Sanchez's form just hasn't been up to scratch, and you can understand where he's come from with those two."