Young stands by Shaw

ANTHONY MARTIAL looks increasingly likely to join Manchester United’s summer exodus but the advice to under-fire defender Luke Shaw yesterday was to knuckle down.

Much has been read into Jose Mourinho’s decision to haul off Shaw at half-time of the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Brighton on Sunday, with the United boss subsequently accusing his side of “lacking class, personality and desire”.

It has been an uneasy season for Shaw, left, who has seen Ashley Young usurp his position for both club and country. But the latter’s advice was simple.

“You just have to get your head down and work,” said Young. “I am not here to talk about other people and whatnot, but obviously he is a player that wants to do well and I want to see him doing well.

“We have got a healthy competition in our squad and when you’ve got world-class players training day-in, day-out, everybody wants to be in that team. Everybody wants to be in that starting XI.

“Of course, everybody in the squad pushes each other on. He is a fantastic player. He can be one of the best in the world. You’ve just got to work hard. When you join a club like United, it’s a tough place to play at.

“But if you play and you train and give 100 per cent, you always get your opportunity.”

Martial’s agent Philippe Lamboley, though, does not quite see things that way