Luke Shaw accepts criticism of his performance, vows to bounce back

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has insisted that former Red Devils captain Roy Keane was right to criticise his substandard display against Manchester City and vowed to kick on by consistently proving his quality.

United suffered a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last time out but bounced back with an impressive 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Shaw who is currently United’s longest-serving player was called out during the defeat at Manchester City. Following the game, Keane noted that the England international “has been getting away with murder for years” and called 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 Saturday’s eventful 2-1 win against Chelsea.

Luke Shaw during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

“I think sometimes you just have to take it on the chin,” Shaw said. “He’s got a lot of experience. He was one of the best captains ever for Man United. Of course it hurts.

“But, for me, I think criticism is part of being a football player.

“I listen to it but, for me, I think he was right. I think that last week I wasn’t at my level at all. I don’t need Roy Keane to tell me. I think after the game, I knew that. I knew that, but of course it hurts.

“The most important thing is knowing how good I can be. The manager knows that.

“I think the managers who I played with in the past know that. I’m not in the team. I’m always in the team and I’m always playing, so there must be something that the managers believe in.

“I’m not getting any younger now and I need to be consistent. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but for me now, it’s about keeping that consistency at a high level. Because I know I can do that.

“I think that’s why last week hurt me a lot, because that’s 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.”

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 Fernandes’ opener.

The England international admitted “relief” was the overriding emotion at the end of a game that United are desperate to build on, with the defender confident “things will evolve” as attention turns to Brentford next weekend.

“I’ve been here a long time now,” he said. “I’ve seen it all and I feel like results are the most important thing.

“Winning games is the most important thing. That’s, of course, what we want to do week in, week out.

“But I think for us it’s about how we react to not winning games. I think sometimes in the past, that’s really been the hard bit, is how we react and return to the next game.

“I think in the past we’ve maintained that low energy in games after that. But whereas I think, for me, and I’m sure the manager can speak on his part, I felt like today we were going to win.

“I think that’s how we have to feel every game. We have to feel like we’re going to go into the game today and win.

“And that doesn’t matter who we play, home or away, we have to have that mentality every game that we’re going to win. We’ve got to go into that game with that mindset.”