Manchester United pair Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw have been re-assured they have futures
JOSE MOURINHO has re-assured Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw they both have futures at Manchester United despite questioning their pain thresholds.
Manchester United pair Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw have been re-assured they have futures hdfh
Mourinho was publicly critical of the England pair on Sunday when he claimed they had told him they were not in the right condition to play against Swansea.
It forced the Manchester United boss to play a hastily-assembled emergency back four, including Phil Jones who had not played a first team game since January, winger Ashley Young at right back and Matteo Darmian – normally the right back - on the left side.
And it prompted fears that Smalling and Shaw could be on borrowed time at Old Trafford.
But United insiders say Mourinho wanted to send a broader message to his squad - that he wants everyone to 'man up' in his regime because he believes they were too molly-coddled under his predecessors Louis van Gaal and David Moyes.
It is understood he has held clear-the-air talks with Smalling and Shaw to explain his remarks and told them they both remain very much part of his plans.
While the two players were initially baffled by his comments, they have accepted them in good faith and in turn have assured him they are totally committed to the cause. Other players in the United squad have no issue with the manager's remarks.
Mourinho said: "I have a friend who is a big tennis player and he tells me when he remembered more the times he plays with pain than the times he plays without pain. To compete you have to go to the limit. It is cultural for some – and that is not my culture. More than me, it is Manchester United."
Mourinho's talk of 'culture' is believed to be a reference to Van Gaal's two years Old Trafford where he refused to rush players back from injury or play them with knocks.
He often talked about players being in the 'red zone' when they are more prone to injuries and was heavily reliant on information from the medical staff and sports scientists.
Mourinho believes that sometimes gives players easy excuses to miss games with minor knocks. He wants players to take more responsibility and declare themselves ready to play despite not feeling 100 per cent.
Significantly, Bryan Robson, United's former Captain Marvel was a recent visitors to the club's training complex. Robson was notorious for pushing himself through the pain barrier to play as did the man bought to replace him, Roy Keane. Current captain Wayne Rooney is from the same mould.
Mourinho wants that sort of commitment to the cause but at the same time he knows he needs Smalling and Shaw on board as he tries to turn round United's fortunes this season.
Smalling, a £10m buy from Fulham in 2010 and is one of the survivors from Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge, has been one of United's best players over the last two seasons when he has established himself as an England regular. And he has been United captain on several occasions when Rooney has been absent.
Mourinho is also fully aware that Shaw – a £28m signing in 2014 - suffered a horrific double fracture of his right leg 14 months ago that ruled him out for nearly a year and that any player returning from such a long injury absence inevitably picks up niggles and strains.
He praised Shaw back in the summer for his dedication to work through the summer in a bid to get himself back to peak fitness.
0 comments:
Post a Comment