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Luke Shaw admits that criticism of his performance in the Manchester derby from Roy Keane ‘hurt’ – but he doesn’t need the former United captain to tell him when he plays badly.
Keane singled out Shaw after United’s 3-0 defeat at the Etihad last weekend, accusing him of ‘giving up’ and ‘throwing in the towel’ when Jeremy Doku beat him to set up the first goal for Phil Foden.
The England defender was also partly at fault when Erling Haaland scored City’s second and third goals, and Keane said: ‘I think Shaw has been getting away with murder for years at United. Always injured, never quite fit and we make excuses for him. Then he gets a few games under his belt and he’s making decisions like he doesn’t want to tackle people.’
Asked about the Irishman’s comments after United bounced back to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday night, Shaw said: ‘Of course it hurts. He's got a lot of experience. He was one of the best captains ever for Man United.
‘Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin. 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. After the game, I knew that. 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 always in the team and I'm always playing, so there must be something that the managers believe in.
Luke Shaw has fired back at Roy Keane after he criticised his performance against Man City
Keane had ripped into Shaw following United's dismal 3-0 defeat by their arch-rivals last week
‘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 and his teammates responded with a much-needed victory over Chelsea which saw both sides reduced to 10 men before half-time as goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and Casemiro were sent off. Ruben Amorim’s side went two goals ahead but were hanging on at the end in the wind and rain.
‘In the second half, we were just thinking about surviving and doing everything we can to win the game,’ added Shaw. ‘We knew how important it was to win.
‘That's the mentality where we're at right now. It was about defending for our lives and making sure that we won this game.
‘I've been here a long time now. I've seen it all and I feel like results are the most important thing. They bring happiness and confidence, especially in the dressing-room and around the training ground. It always helps.
‘That's what we want to do week in, week out. It’s about how we react to not winning games. Sometimes in the past, that's really been the hard bit: how we react and return to the next game. We’ve maintained that low energy in games after that.
‘I felt like today we were going to win. That's how we have to feel every game. We have to feel like we're going to go into the game and win.’
