Jose Mourinho admits he can't give £52million summer signing Fred a run in his team until Manchester United tighten up defensively.
The 25-year-old has started just three of United's last 14 games and was left out of the squad completely against Arsenal in midweek.
Fred has blamed his lack of first-team opportunities for losing his place in the Brazil national team, but Mourinho believes he cannot be risked on a regular basis until there are more defensively-minded players around him.
Asked about the former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder's progress, the United boss said: 'Step by step. You have also other players in other clubs that needed their time, and you have some of them that played even less than what Fred is playing.
'When the team is defensively stronger and doesn't need in midfield people that are more worried in giving some balance to the team than being involved in creation and attacking dynamic, the day we are stronger defensively I think the horizons for Fred change completely.'