Manchester United suffered a heavy home loss on Monday night at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, which led to many fans calling for manager Jose Mourinho to be sacked, but defender Luke Shaw has apologised to the United faithful and promised them that better days are in store.
United laboured to a 2-1 home win over Leicster City on the opening day, but since then things seem to have unravelled for the Red Devils.
They were stunned by Brighton & Hove Albion on Matchday 2, but worse was to follow as Spurs thumped them 3-0 at Old Trafford to leave them six points off the top after just three games played.
“You look at the first half and I think we were outstanding. We had a lot of chances to put the game to bed. Of the chances we had, (we should have scored) maybe one or two, then for me it would have been game over,” Shaw told MUTV after the tie at Old Trafford.
United did actually dominate Spurs in the first 45 minutes, but with Romelu Lukaku missing an absolute sitter, the sides went into the interval deadlocked.
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“We spoke at half-time and Jose (Mourinho) said they hadn’t had one corner, one cross or one dangerous opportunity. Then, from their first corner in the second half they had a goal, but even then we should have been relaxed because it was only one goal and we still had a lot of time.”
The first corner for Spurs yielded the the opener and before United could react, Lucas Moura capitalised on a defensive mixup to put the visitors 2-0 ahead.
“But then came another mistake, another silly, stupid goal. We were so on top and it is just really disappointing, everyone in the dressing room is really sad, especially after the first half we had.”
Shaw was United’s top performer on the night, but the fullback insisted personal accolades were insignificant if the team lost as he added,
“Personally, I don’t really care about my performance, I care more about the result and the team. It is a sad night for us, we have got to pick ourselves back up, keep working hard and we need to pick up points after two losses. We need to win and win in a good way. We played really well in the first half and if we keep playing like that, and take our chances, then we will win games.”
Reportedly, star players like Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba are unhappy with Mourinho’s management, but Shaw insisted that the Portuguese manager still enjoyed the support of the dressing room.
“You see a lot of things in the media that go on about what our dressing room is like, but we have a really good spirit, a really good group of lads who want to work and achieve big things here. We have a group of hard workers and amazing talents, everywhere you look on the field. We have got to start taking our chances and I am sure we will start winning games.”
Shaw was the sole player to get lauded by Mourinho in his post-match interview and the left-back has been among the few shining lights for the Manchester giants in what has been a dismal start to the season.
“A big thank you goes to the fans for the way they supported us, even when we were down 3-0. It was amazing,” he continued.
“At the final whistle, the way they clapped the team was really respectful and that was nice for us as players to receive after a disappointing result. To the fans that came out tonight, we are sorry and we will be better next week, we will improve, we will keep working hard.”
Shaw admitted that United haven’t made the ideal start to their campaign but insisted that they still have plenty of time to turn it around as he concluded “It is early in the season, we have got a lot of games to come and we have got to get points. Tonight’s result wasn’t good enough. I am sorry to the fans, not just the ones here but those at home that watched and supported us, but we will look at that over the next week and bounce back against Burnley.”
Despite Shaw’s insistence, it appears that Mourinho may be one loss from the sack.
The Red Devils visit Burnley on Sunday for the final game before the international break and should they fail to secure maximum points from their trip to Turf Moor, the Special One may well become the Jobless One.
Frenchman Zinedine Zidane is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Mourinho in the Old Trafford hot seat.
The odds have significantly shortened after the Portguese had a remarkable meltdown in his post-match press conference on Monday night.