Mourinho needs to move on, says Shaw

LONDON: England defender Luke Shaw said he found it “strange” to be the subject of continued criticism from Jose Mourinho, his former manager at Manchester United.

The pair had a strained relationship during Mourinho’s two-and-a-half-year tenure at Old Trafford, with the 58-year-old Portuguese publicly criticising the let back’s performances on several occasions.

Mourinho, who has been working as a pundit on Talksport during the European Championship, described Shaw’s set-piece delivery in England’s 1-0 win against the Czech Republic as “very poor”.

“There is no hiding that we didn’t get on,” Shaw said. “Clearly I am in his head a lot and he thinks about me a lot.

“I don’t know why he is still going on and wanting to point at me. I don’t feel like the set-pieces ... were as ‘dramatically bad’ as he says.

“I think he was a brilliant manager but ... the past is the past. It is time to move on. I am trying to move on but, obviously, he can’t.”

Shaw said he was able to shrug off negative comments from Mourinho now because they paled by comparison to the criticism he received from him at United.

“What he says now is nothing compared to how it used to be, if I am being totally honest,” Shaw added.

“I am so past it now. I have grown up a lot. The three years I had with him, I learnt a lot. I am used to him saying negative stuff about me now, so I just pass it by.”

Shaw has been on an upward trajectory since Mourinho’s Manchester United sacking in December 2018. The defender won just one England cap while he struggled to get into the United side, but has started the last two Euro 2020 fixtures at let-back.

He helped United finish second in the table and was named in the Premier League Team of the Year for 2020-21 ater becoming a first-team regular undermourinho’sreplacement,olegunnarsolskjaer.