What Shaw said in Jose row
Revealed: Shaw’s fury in incredible half-time row with Jose
LUKE SHAW challenged Jose Mourinho over the way Manchester United’s manager was treating him during a heated dressing-room row at Old Trafford, Sportsmail can reveal.
An angry Shaw reacted to Mourinho’s decision to replace him at half-time in the FA Cup win over Brighton a fortnight ago by saying: ‘Why are you always picking on me?’
Mourinho responded by telling Shaw that he was not defending well enough and Brighton were having too much freedom down United’s left flank.
The exchange could be heard outside the home dressing-room as both Shaw and Mourinho raised their voices before secondhalf substitute Ashley Young came on for his team-mate.
Shaw feels that he has been singled out unfairly by Mourinho, and sources close to him have spoken of the left back’s ‘moments of despair’ this season.
It was the second time in under a fortnight that the two men had clashed. Shaw sought assurances over his first-team opportunities after United’s 3-2 comeback win at Crystal Palace when he came on as a 67th-minute substitute.
The 22-year- old was worried about his place in the England squad with just three months to go until the World Cup in Russia, and his fears were confirmed a week later when he was left out of the internationals against Holland and Italy.
The meeting at Carrington did not go well as Mourinho rounded angrily on Shaw.
The United manager is known to be frustrated that the player has not taken instructions on board, and believes he must concentrate first and foremost on defending.
Shaw was subsequently an unused substitute in the win over Liverpool and then left out of the squad altogether for the Champions League defeat by Sevilla. He then suffered the indignity of being replaced at half- time against Brighton.
Mourinho’s public criticism of Shaw after that game has cast fresh doubt over the player’s future at Old Trafford with just over a year left on his £70,000-aweek contract.
United have been linked with a number of left backs including Tottenham’s Danny Rose, Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham, Juventus defender Alex Sandro and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney.
The fall-out between Mourinho and Shaw is another example of the Portuguese coach getting tough with his players in recent months, particularly those he feels are not focusing on their job in the team.
Record signing Paul Pogba has paid the price for a touchline exchange with Mourinho at Tottenham at the end of January, starting just three of United’s nine games since then.