A few Manchester United players have already fallen foul of manager Jose Mourinho; one such player has now promised to step up and regain the trust of the ‘Special One.’
England left-back Luke Shaw has had a torrid time at Manchester United since joining from Southampton three years ago. He spent almost the entirety of last season out with a broken leg, while his return to action has been marred by some glaring errors.
Shaw’s mistake in his last Premier League game against Watford was criticized by manager Jose Mourinho, and there were rumours of a rift between player and manager.
The young defender has opened up about being dropped for recent games, stating that he is ready to fight for his place.
“It’s normal you’re frustrated on Sunday because I would have loved to play in that game [against Chelsea] but it obviously wasn’t meant to be and at the end of the day it is the manager’s decision,” said Shaw, according to Goal.
“Obviously with the injury with Eric now it might be my time to step up and show the manager what I can do and that he can trust me.”
Shaw also expressed frustration at his first-half performance against Manchester City in their League Cup clash on Wednesday, where he was roundly criticised for failing to neutralise City winger Jesus Navas.
Manchester United won the game 1-0. (Photo courtesy: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images)
An injury to Ivorian defender Eric Bailly has handed Shaw an opportunity to redeem himself. Bailly has been ruled out for two months, which is likely to mean that Dutchman Daley Blind will shift into the centre-half position from left-back.
Jose Mourinho does not have too many options in that regard, with Argentine defender Marcos Rojo failing to impress at left-back. Matteo Darmian can play in the position as well, but the Italian defender seems destined for a move to Inter Milan this winter and is thus unlikely to start too many games for Man United.
This opens the door for Shaw to come back into the team, just like he did against Man City in the League Cup. However, the Englishman performed poorly in the game, and he will have to back up his claims with a solid display against Burnley this weekend if Mourinho picks him to start.
