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Paul Pogba

PARIS. — Paul Pogba needs time to adjust to life back at Manchester United, according to his France boss Didier Deschamps. Deschamps has no concerns over Pogba’s form but has moved to cool down expectations of Manchester United’s £89m world record signing.The world’s most expensive footballer has had a mixed start to his second spell at Old Trafford, winning the man-of-the-match award as champions Leicester were beaten 4-1 last month, but missing two clear chances against Stoke at the weekend.

The 23-year-old missed a couple of gilt-edged opportunities in the home draw with Stoke on Sunday as Jose Mourinho’s side were left frustrated.

Pogba is with France for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Netherlands, and Deschamps has thrown a protective arm around his star midfielder.

France boss Deschamps has urged patience at the start of the international break as France prepare for back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Holland.

“He has changed his club team and needs to find his bearing with his new team-mates,” Deschamps told a news conference at Clairefontaine.

“With Paul, we always expect more. When he does something neutral, often it is not enough.

“He is someone we expect to make assists in every game — there is an expectation that is too large.

“Paul is okay in his own head. He knows what he wants.”

Pogba has been paired with Ander Herrera in United’s two most recent Premier League games, and Mourinho spoke at the weekend of his confidence in the partnership.

“Ander can be an important player for us,” he said, “because we play with four attacking players plus Paul who likes a lot to go to different positions, to try and create.

“But we need a player like Ander because he is very fast on the defensive transition, he can give us the security we need, especially against fast counter attacks.”

Herrera’s recent performances earned him a call-up to the Spain squad this month. The Euro 2016 runners-up France also met up at their national-team base in Clairefontaine on Monday.

France are fifth in six-team Group A following a 0-0 draw with Belarus in September.

Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrated his 35th birthday on Monday and revealed one of the secrets of his remarkable longevity is to treat every game as if it is his last.

The veteran Swede is the oldest striker playing regularly in the Premier League but is still going strong after 804 senior club and international games.

Ibrahimovic was expected to be rested by Jose Mourinho from Manchester United’s League Cup and Europa League games but his fitness levels are such that he has figured in every game so far — starting nine and coming on from the bench in two others — scoring six goals to take his career combined club tally to just two short of the 400 mark.

And he says motivation is not a problem despite a career that has taken him to Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Paris St Germain before he arrived at Old Trafford.

“I try to push myself for every game,” he said. “For me every game is a new game whether it is Premier League, Europa League, League Cup, FA Cup or whatever.

“As a professional player, whether you start or if you are on the bench, you need to be mentally ready and you need to do your job because we are judged by every game we play.

“So whatever we did two games ago it is the last one that counts and that is the way I think, so that is why I work hard for it.” Team-mate Ander Herrera says Ibrahimovic is an inspiration. “He’s unbelievable,” said the Spaniard. “He doesn’t miss any training session and he trains every day at his best trying to get everyone at their highest level. “He is very, very aggressive and demanding but in a good way because every day he wants to win every training session and he wants everyone with him to win and to keep working.

“We are very lucky to have Zlatan with us. And if you watched a game and didn’t know Zlatan’s age you could think he was only 28 or 29 and that is good for us. “You see the way he behaves, the way he trains, even before the session. He is always stretching, taking care of his body, so that is the way a professional player has to behave.

“He’s an example to all of us, not just the younger players. It shows when you behave as a professional you can (still) be at a top club at 35.”

Ibrahimovic’s decision to retire from international football after the Euros in the summer means he now has a fortnight to prepare for United’s tough schedule after the current break, when they face Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Chelsea and Manchester City in three different competitions in the space of 10 days. — Mailonline.