JOSE Mourinho has hinted he will axe some of his under-performing Manchester United stars when they face Cherries tomorrow.

Mourinho has decided to act in the wake of United's alarming loss to West Brom on Sunday, a defeat which handed Manchester City the title.

A season-defining week – which sees United face Tottenham in the semi-final of the FA Cup on Saturday – started in embarrassing fashion as Jay Rodriguez fired the beleaguered Baggies to their first Premier League win in three months.

It was a meek display and a performance in stark contrast to the way United had roared back to victory at the Etihad the previous week – a result Mourinho believes was down to over-confidence and complacency.

The United boss has vowed to drop some big names and said ahead of his planned approach at Vitality Stadium: “Rotating is not the right word.”

“If I play a player against Bournemouth and the player is phenomenal, he plays in the semi-final.

“The word is not rotation, it is an opportunity for people, for some people to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs.

"Some of the guys that played (against West Brom) don't have a place in that team.”

Asked to clarify if he meant that some of those who had under-performed against West Brom would not play against Tottenham, Mourinho retorted: “Yeah.

“What is the criteria for a manager to choose a team?

“I only know one criteria – it is the way you play. It is the only way I can select players.

“Or do you want me to go for how much they cost, or their salary, or their beautiful face, or...? The only way is to go with performance.”

Ander Herrera was replaced at half-time against West Brom and Ashley Young was taken off in the 75th minute, while Paul Pogba was withdrawn in the 58th minute.

The France midfielder was a shadow of the imposing, match-winning presence seen in the second half at the Etihad.

“It was not just him,” Mourinho said of Pogba’s performance.

“And he had a yellow card, so he was in a more difficult position than others.

“Playing with only two midfield players, you cannot play with one player at risk of not being able to make a foul.

“You can do it if your team is not losing the ball, but our team was losing the ball so easily. Everything was complicated so we were losing lots of balls.

“So, by losing lots of balls, with turnings and flicks and tricks, the midfield players and central defenders are in risk of one touch, one late challenge and they are out.

“Paul was out because of the yellow card. In terms of the way he played, he was not worse than some others that were on the pitch for 90 minutes.”