Paper Round: We want League Cup win more than Southampton, says Mourinho

That is the headline in the Daily Star, but what Jose Mourinho actually says is that he does not think his own players want to win the League Cup any less than Southampton do. Southampton have had a fortnight's rest, because of the FA Cup round and their lack of European fixtures, whereas this will be Manchester United's third game in a week. They will be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was injured against St Etienne on Wednesday.

Paper Round's view: Mourinho has used the League Cup to kick off title wins at Chelsea in both his tenures there, and is trying to do the same. He is not a man given to resting his first-choice players, but will have to do without Mkhitaryan for at least the weekend's fixtures. It won't be desire that decides this match, it will more likely be whether Mourinho can shuffle his team appropriately.

Jose Mourinho recalled his own experiences at Chelsea last season when he accused Leicester players of selfishness this campaign, reports the Mirror. Mourinho said in a press conference, '“Probably the season started with the typical selfishness of others. People thinking about new contracts, people thinking about leaving, people thinking about more money, people forgetting who helped them reach a certain level." Mourinho said that Ranieri should be a hero at Leicester, and wore a 'CR' on his shirt in tribute to the manafger.

Paper Round's view: It's no surprise that Mourinho used other events to have a dig at Chelsea and his former players, who failed him so utterly last year (though with his treatment of Eva Carneiro, he can hardly be surprised they downed tools for much of that season with him). He is, however, probably correct that the Leicester players have failed Ranieri. He showed the players what they were really capable of, and while real champions want to repeat that success forever, it seems Leicester's squad were content to let it be a one-off. As we covered yesterday, Ranieri handed the situation with his usual dignity.

Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has laid the blame squarely at the players for their continued relegation scrap. Allardyce said: "Where I’m struggling at the moment is with the players staying with the game plan. “At the end of the day my experience and my qualifications are far greater than theirs." Allardyce has been unable to kickstart the season as he had done before at Sunderland, and might be the manager who finally takes Palace back down to the Championship.

Paper Round's view: Allardyce might well be correct that it is the players who are failing, but it is up to the manager to make sure the players perform in whatever circumstances he inherits. It is usually a desperate measure to blame players in public, which suggests that Allardyce has run out of options and ideas to try out on the training ground. The team failed to respond to a similar declaration by Alan Pardew, who was sacked earlier in the season.

Eddie Jones and Dylan Hartley and have decided that the time to be ruthless is not after defeat, but after victory. Hartley said, "We looked at an article on Leicester City a couple of weeks ago that said they had become more ruthless in their approach but the message to us was that it was no point getting ruthless when you have lost, you must get ruthless when you are winning."

Paper Round's view: With a ridiculous win of victories behind them, it is hard to doubt either Hartley or Jones. They have improved since cutting it close against France, and this again demonstrates that they are aware that they must defeat not just their opponents, but their own potential complacency.