Luke Shaw admits Roy Keane was right to criticise him against Man City
Luke Shaw admits he was poor against Manchester City (Nick Potts/PA)
Luke Shaw says former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was right to criticise his substandard derby display and vowed to kick on by consistently proving his quality to Ruben Amorim.
The 30-year-old is the Red Devilsā longest-serving player and has endured his fair share of lows since moving to Old Trafford from Southampton in 2014.
Last weekendās 3-0 derby defeat at Manchester City was one of Shawās poorer performances, leading Keane to say he āhas been getting away with murder for yearsā and call out his fitness record.
The United defender heard those scathing comments and had no argument with the criticism of his derby display as he backed himself following Saturdayās eventful 2-1 win against Chelsea.
āI think sometimes you just have to take it on the chin,ā Shaw said. āHeās got a lot of experience. He was one of the best captains ever for Man United. Of course it hurts.
āBut, for me, I think criticism is part of being a football player.
āI listen to it but, for me, I think he was right. I think that last week I wasnāt at my level at all. I donāt need Roy Keane to tell me. I think after the game, I knew that. I knew that, but of course it hurts.
āThe most important thing is knowing how good I can be. The manager knows that.
āI think the managers who I played with in the past know that. Iām not in the team. Iām always in the team and Iām always playing, so there must be something that the managers believe in.
āIām not getting any younger now and I need to be consistent. Iāve had a lot of ups and downs, but for me now, itās about keeping that consistency at a high level. Because I know I can do that.
āI think thatās why last week hurt me a lot, because thatās not my level. And I think the criticism is what people understand. But like I said, I take it on the chin and listen to it and move on.ā
Shaw started to do that by putting in a strong display against Chelsea, including bravely hurling himself at a high ball that led to Casemiro adding to Bruno Fernandesā opener.
The Brazil international would follow Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in being sent off as red cards bookended a first half that was followed by a nervy second period after Trevoh Chalobah scored.
Shaw admitted āreliefā was the overriding emotion at the end of a game that United are desperate to build on, with the defender confident āthings will evolveā as attention turns to Brentford next weekend.
āIāve been here a long time now,ā he said. āIāve seen it all and I feel like results are the most important thing.
āWinning games is the most important thing. Thatās, of course, what we want to do week in, week out.
āBut I think for us itās about how we react to not winning games. I think sometimes in the past, thatās really been the hard bit, is how we react and return to the next game.
āI think in the past weāve maintained that low energy in games after that. But whereas I think, for me, and Iām sure the manager can speak on his part, I felt like today we were going to win.
āI think thatās how we have to feel every game. We have to feel like weāre going to go into the game today and win.
Trevās post-match interview. šļø#CFC | #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/iSFeu5vAsf ā Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 21, 2025
āAnd that doesnāt matter who we play, home or away, we have to have that mentality every game that weāre going to win. Weāve got to go into that game with that mindset.ā
While United secured a much-needed win, Chelsea goalscorer Chalobah apologised to fans as the āperformance was not the level we want to showā even after losing Sanchez inside five minutes.
āWeāve got to look at ourselves and take responsibility,ā he said. āWe canāt say weāre a young team anymore, we have to take responsibility as men and hold that on ourselves. Thatās not the level weāve shown in the last six months.ā
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
