The tabloids will have fun over the next few days talking up cracks in the Manchester United dressing room which may or may not exist.
Luke Shaw’s post match comments spoke about a team not being ‘together’ on the pitch after United’ 1-0 home loss to Wolves.
Shaw’s comments were refreshingly honest, set aside from the usual footballer bland quotes after matches.
The England defender told Sky Sports: “You can feel the motivation is there. Maybe tonight we struggled. I didn’t feel when I was on the pitch that we were all there together. I think we felt like we were struggling and it was tough.”
One player who did receive praise from Shaw was United teammate Phil Jones, making his first appearance in two years.
Shaw said: “One thing I will say is Phil Jones should be proud of himself. He has been criticised for years, and has gone through a lot, but he is so professional and he has trained hard and he was phenomenal.
“He was exceptional, I am very happy for him and he deserves it.”
Jones did himself proud
United called on Jones as emergency defensive cover after an injury to Harry Maguire late on against Burnley.
Jones played well and looked both alert and confident in defence, while making his first appearance in two seasons.
With his contract set to expire in the summer, and little chance of regular football when everybody is fit, there should be plenty of enquiries for Jones over the coming months.
On a depressing night for United supporters, Jones was one of the very few bright spots, and deserves all the praises he gets.
Shaw’s comments underline how highly he is regarded by his teammates, and it is just a shame the rest of the team could not put in a performance to match.
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