Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHAW: TIME TO STAND UP
LUKE SHAW has called on Manchester United’s players to lift the pressure on beleaguered boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United go into tomorrow night’s clash at Chelsea with their top-four hopes in the balance after taking just four points from five games this year.
The heat is now on Solskjaer (below) – but the United boss has been resolute in constantly coming to the defence of his players throughout another tough season.
Shaw believes it is time for that to change. He said: “We are all aware of how the manager has tried to take the criticism on himself this season.
“We really admire him for that – but there comes a time as a player when you have to look at yourself and realise that it’s all on you.
“The manager can’t keep defending us.
“It’s up to us now. We’re the ones who need to shoulder the blame and start performing.
“This is Manchester United. You know why you’re here. You’ve got to prove the critics wrong.
“We have been very sloppy at times, but what has brought us closer is everyone’s determination to improve.
“Everyone here loves Ole and every single player, every single staff member, wants to win and play well.”
Shaw, 24, knows how damaging it can be when managers play the blame game as results start to slide. The England defender was himself targeted by Jose Mourinho as he struggled to rediscover the form he was showing before he suffered a double leg fracture in 2015 that sidelined him for 11 months.
Shaw insists that experience made him stronger – and believes Solskjaer will eventually reap the rewards of sticking by his players.
Shaw said: “Personally I have had to have a very thick skin. Sometimes it’s easy for people to forget what I’ve been through.
“You need to have a thick skin to play football anywhere, but especially so when you’re at the biggest club in the world. “Everyone wants to have a go whenever you lose, everyone is waiting to criticise the moment anything goes wrong. It’s just part and parcel of playing for United.”
Shaw added: “Jose has his methods. And he is one of the best managers in the world.
“I can’t really criticise him because, looking back, what I went through made me a much stronger person.
“Ole is different. But in the dressing room he always lets us know if we aren’t doing the thing he expects from us.
“There isn’t a lot he can do once we go out onto the pitch. Then it is all down to us.
“We’re here to take this club back to where it belongs, winning trophies and challenging for titles. I honestly believe we’re on the way towards that.”