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 Devilsâ longest-serving player and has endured his fair share of lows since moving to Old Trafford from Southampton in 2014.
Last weekendâs 3-0 derby defeat at Manchester City was one of Shawâs poorer performances, leading Keane to say he âhas been getting away with murder for yearsâ 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 Saturdayâs eventful 2-1 win against Chelsea.
âI think sometimes you just have to take it on the chin,â Shaw said. âHeâs got a lot of experience. He was one of the best captains ever for Man United. Of course it hurts.
âBut, for me, I think criticism is part of being a football player.
âI listen to it but, for me, I think he was right. I think that last week I wasnât at my level at all. I donât need Roy Keane to tell me. I think after the game, I knew that. I knew that, but of course it hurts.
âThe most important thing is knowing how good I can be. The manager knows that.
âI think the managers who I played with in the past know that. Iâm not in the team. Iâm always in the team and Iâm always playing, so there must be something that the managers believe in.
âIâm not getting any younger now and I need to be consistent. Iâve had a lot of ups and downs, but for me now, itâs about keeping that consistency at a high level. Because I know I can do that.
âI think thatâs why last week hurt me a lot, because thatâs 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.â
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 Fernandesâ 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 âreliefâ was the overriding emotion at the end of a game that United are desperate to build on, with the defender confident âthings will evolveâ as attention turns to Brentford next weekend.
âIâve been here a long time now,â he said. âIâve seen it all and I feel like results are the most important thing.
âWinning games is the most important thing. Thatâs, of course, what we want to do week in, week out.
âBut I think for us itâs about how we react to not winning games. I think sometimes in the past, thatâs really been the hard bit, is how we react and return to the next game.
âI think in the past weâve maintained that low energy in games after that. But whereas I think, for me, and Iâm sure the manager can speak on his part, I felt like today we were going to win.
âI think thatâs how we have to feel every game. We have to feel like weâre going to go into the game today and win.
Trevâs post-match interview. đïž#CFC | #MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/iSFeu5vAsf â Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 21, 2025
âAnd that doesnât matter who we play, home or away, we have to have that mentality every game that weâre going to win. Weâve got to go into that game with that mindset.â
While United secured a much-needed win, Chelsea goalscorer Chalobah apologised to fans as the âperformance was not the level we want to showâ even after losing Sanchez inside five minutes.
âWeâve got to look at ourselves and take responsibility,â he said. âWe canât say weâre a young team anymore, we have to take responsibility as men and hold that on ourselves. Thatâs not the level weâve shown in the last six months.â
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