Luke Shaw has been warned by Gary Neville that his reputation will be damaged if he fails to respond to José Mourinho’s scathing assessment of his commitment to Manchester United by showing he belongs at Old Trafford.
Shaw was not even a substitute during Saturday’s goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion and his future looks uncertain after Mourinho said he cannot compare his attitude with those of United’s other left-backs, Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young. The manager said Shaw was a “long way behind” in terms of commitment, focus and ambition.
Shaw was seen checking into United’s team hotel on Monday night before their Premier League game against Everton on Tuesday night after he reportedly held talks with Mourinho. But the manager’s criticism has raised the prospect of the England defender leaving this summer, with Tottenham Hotspur reportedly monitoring the situation. Yet Neville, who worked closely with Shaw on England duty, has urged the 21-year-old to prove his manager wrong.
“He has to respond,” the former England coach said. “If he doesn’t, it will be a reflection upon him as a character and a personality moving forward. I think if people think words can get to you … words shouldn’t hurt you. Words are words. They come and go. Those words will be here for another couple of days and then they’ll be gone.
“The reality of it is Luke Shaw will be given a chance to play in a few weeks’ time and it’s his performance on the pitch that will count. He has the talent to play for Manchester United.”
Neville strongly believes that Shaw is talented enough to succeed at United, even though he has made only one Premier League start in 2017, and said he was surprised to hear that Shaw has struggled to impress Mourinho in training.
“I always thought with England that he trained well,” the former United defender said. “Ultimately the demands of Manchester United and Mourinho are high. Luke has to knuckle down, take the challenge on and get to the point where he’s the fittest he’s ever been and with that hopefully the talent will shine through because he’s got incredible talent. It would be such a shame if it didn’t work for him at United with the talent he’s got.
“They’re strong words. Harsh words. But he must feel that it’s the right thing, either for him, the club or for Luke Shaw – maybe all three. What I do hope is that the response from Luke Shaw is that the gauntlet’s been thrown down, I’m going to take this challenge on and not feeling now that Manchester United is no longer a place for him to play football. I believe Manchester United is a place where Luke Shaw can play football and thrive.”
Neville pointed out that Shaw was playing well for club and country before breaking a leg last season. His recovery has been held back by a series of niggling injuries and he has rarely looked comfortable physically.
“I know him, I’ve coached him and he’s a good kid,” Neville said. “He has to stay fit and deliver consistently. His problem has been fitness. He had a terrible injury. That was his biggest problem. He was playing well before that for Manchester United, so this idea that he can’t handle it - he can. He needs to get fit and stay clear of injuries.”
Mourinho has hit out at Shaw in public in the past, criticising his defending in United’s 3-1 defeat at Watford in September, but Neville believes that players have to deal with managers making negative comments about them.
“It’s unusual for a manager to adopt that tactic,” he said. “However players have got to be able to handle it. He’s playing for Manchester United and he’s got to fill that shirt and have broad shoulders. It’s worked with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial, where they’ve responded, and Luke Shaw needs to respond in the same way.
“Maybe it’s a tactic where Mourinho’s thinking: ‘I’m not going to dance around the issue, I’m going to hit it head on and tell everybody what I feel and be harsh.’ It’s unusual, it’s something you don’t see too often, but Mourinho has the certainty and the confidence and the experience and knows he’s in a strong position at the club; he knows the club isn’t going to sack him, so he knows he can launch into a few players and demand better from them. Hopefully it will work.”
Sky Sports will show Chelsea v Manchester United, the north London and Manchester derbies and more in the Premier League run-in
