Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling has said that he doesn’t feel he has to prove anything to Jose Mourinho.
The United manager twice publicly questioned Smalling’s fitness and commitment during the recent domestic season which has prompted question marks around his Old Trafford future.
Mourinho questioned the defender’s absence at Swansea in November with what turned out to be a broken toe, before calling for him to be braver when returning from a knee injury sustained on England duty in March.
The 27-year-old has given his verdict over what was a frustating personal season but insisted he did not feel like he had to win over manager Mourinho.
“I don’t think I’ve got anything to prove as such,” Smalling said, as quoted by the Belfast Telegraph. “I think he knows my character, he knows what type of player I am and that’s not changed.”
The United defender has had a season riddled with injuries causing him to miss a total of 21 games for the club.
The 27-year-old picked up a toe injury early on in the season which saw him on the sidelines between October and December, and led to the United boss questioning his absence surrounding the foot problem.
Later in March Smalling was unlucky again after he picked up another lengthy injury which led to the centre-back being out of action until May, where he returned to play six out of United’s final seven matches of the season.
After sustaining the knee injury Mourinho commented that the England defender should be braver.
“I think in the Chelsea game I proved that I can play with the injections,” Smalling added to the Belfast Telegraph. “To be honest, I don’t think any player is ever 100 per cent. There’s always something.
“Out of the whole squad there is going to be some niggle. As players, it’s not about always being 100 per cent. It’s about going on the pitch and doing a job.
“We’re always managing things – that’s why we have so many physios and getting your stretches and whatever – but yeah, nobody is ever 100 per cent”