Manchester United defender Luke Shaw says Jose Mourinho should be respected for the job he did at the club, saying the achievement of the Portuguese gaffer should not be downplayed.
Mourinho’s two-and-a-half year tenure at Old Trafford came to an end when he was dismissed on Tuesday, following United’s patchy start to the season. The Portuguese boss was critical of Shaw at times during his reign, but the defender says Mourinho’s achievements at the club should not be dismissed.
“It’s not very nice when something as big as that (Mourinho’s dismissal) happens at the club, but I think we all, as players and as a team, show respect in what happened. People might be quick to forget what Jose did for United – the three trophies he won – he did a lot. One of the trophies (Europa League) was one we had not won before, and he took us to three trophies in one season. So those people need to respect him and remember what he did, not only us as a team to win those trophies but the fans as well,” Shaw said.
United made a bright start to life under new caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Saturday, cruising to a 5-1 win at Cardiff, and impressing with an attacking intent that had been lacking at times under Mourinho. Shaw added: “Under any manager, or any circumstances, that’s how Man Utd are expected to play. At times, it didn’t happen but we moved the ball quicker here.
“We were very quick at getting the ball forward and we were more clinical. I think in games before we have had a lot of chances that maybe could have ended up in the back of the net, but we didn’t take our chances. It was nice to get the five goals because we haven’t done that for a while and we push on from there. Of course, we want the top four, we want to be playing in the Champions League next season. Seeing the way we played, I don’t see why we can’t if we keep playing like that. There’s a very long way to go and we need to focus on how to catch up. We’re not too focused on the other teams’ scorelines at the moment. The main focus is us and the next four or five games are very winnable.”
