Shaw we’ll be up for the fight
LUKE VOWS TO SHOW HEART AND PROVE JOSE WRONG
LUKE SHAW says Manchester United’s under-fire squad were stung by Jose Mourinho’s latest broadside but insisted they will show their fighting qualities at Old Trafford tonight.
The full-back was absent as Mourinho’s stuttering outfit fought out a 0-0 home draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday after which he accused some players of “lacking heart”.
And while Shaw conceded results like that were not helping their cause, he maintained there is a hunger in the dressing room to prove Mourinho wrong, starting with a win against Young Boys in the Champions League tonight.
He said: “Sometimes, of course, it may look like a lack of hunger, but I look around the changing room and training ground and everyone wants the same thing – to win games and climb up the table.
“Everyone has been disappointed with the last couple of days. It was a massive game against Palace after the international break and we needed to win.
“It wasn’t to be but we need to fight for the club and the manager, starting against Young Boys.
“Everyone in this changing room is a fighter and everyone wants the best for this team and the club. We all want to win trophies.
“But we need to take on board what has been said by the manager and fight for him, the team, the fans and for the club. We are going through a bad stage at the moment but I know good things are coming our way, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Victory would blast away some of the clouds around Old Trafford after such an underwhelming display at the weekend.
And it could ease them into the knockout stages of the Champions League if they win and Valencia fail to beat Juventus in the other Group H match in Turin.
Europe has provided something of an outlet for domestic frustrations – notably their stirring comeback victory against Juve away from home in the last round of fixtures. However, it has also served to highlight their inconsistency.
Shaw admitted it was hard to reconcile a side who can floor the Italian champions yet fail to land a blow on Crystal Palace at home.
He said: “It is tough to say what has gone wrong, but looking at the games here, it just hasn’t been dropping for us. Of course it is strange to go to Juve and win and then fail to beat Palace, but all I can say is we are disappointed and we need to put it right.”
Victor Lindelof faces a number of weeks on the sidelines with what appeared to be a groin injury sustained at the weekend.
Even without him, United should have too much for a
Swiss side who have shipped 10 goals in four Champions
League group matches and are missing leading goalscorer Guillaume Hoarau.
If any further incentive was needed, there is also a piece of unwanted history awaiting should they fail to score tonight, having fired blanks in their last two Champions
League fixtures at home.
Never in their history have
United failed to hit the net in three consecutive European home ties.
Shaw added: “It is nice to have a midweek game so soon after a result which was not what we wanted at the weekend.
“It is a real chance for us to bounce back and clinch qualification. Young Boys is not going to be easy but it is a game we should win.”
Ironically, Mourinho had also been quoted in an interview with Spanish TV criticising his own young players for lacking maturity and surrounding themselves with those unwilling to administer tough love.
Shaw, who has come in for his fair share, maintained it was useful having “a thick skin”.
He said: “I think it is a generational thing – compared to when he was a bit younger – and you need thick skin to play under the manager. But, 100 per cent, this is the biggest club in the world and we are just looking forward to putting things right.”