Luke Shaw eager to earn back Mourinho trust
For a player who enjoyed such a smooth ascent from Southampton to England and Old Trafford, the 21-year-old has endured some tough moments with United.
An eye-opening first season was followed by a superb start to his second campaign, only for a horrific double leg break to bring that to an abrupt end last September.
Shaw returned to action 10 months later in Mourinho’s first pre-season friendly, but playing time has been restricted since the United boss highlighted his mistake in the defeat at Watford, the left-back starting just two of the subsequent eight matches.
Illness and injury has warped that statistic but Shaw was fully-fit for Sunday’s match at Chelsea, only to be left out of the 18-man matchday squad.
Shaw returned to the line-up in Wednesday’s 1-0 EFL Cup win against Manchester City and wants to reestablish himself, with impressive defender Eric Bailly’s unfortunate injury offering him a chance to do just that.
“It’s normal that you’re frustrated on Sunday because I would have loved to play in that game,” Shaw said. “But it obviously wasn’t meant to be and at the end of the day it is the manager’s decision.
“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.
““Hopefully I play on Saturday and get another 90 minutes and a good result with that.”
Shaw is disappointed by Bailly’s setback, but is confident United have the depth to not only cope but improve.
The England international wants to build on the City win when Burnley arrive in the Premier League tomorrow, with the left-back also targeting victories at Fenerbahce and Swansea before the international break.
“Nothing is easy and no fixtures in the Premier League are easy,” Shaw said. “We’ve seen that time and time again.
“People might think that’s an easy game and end up losing them. I am not going to say that: Every game is tough.”
Meanwhile, Mourinho has been charged with misconduct by the FA for his comments about referee Anthony Taylor prior to the goalless draw at Liverpool.
The Altrincham-based official’s appointment for the October 17 derby raised eyebrows in some quarters and Keith Hackett, the former head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited body, claimed the appointment would place undue pressure on the referee.
When those comments were put to Mourinho ahead of the match, the United boss said: “I think Mr Taylor is a very good referee but I think somebody with intention is putting such a pressure on him that I feel that it will be difficult for him to have a very good performance.”
Mourinho was contacted by the FA for his observations on the comments and the body has now charged him with misconduct.
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