Luke Shaw questions squad’s quality after Europa League final defeat | OneFootball

Luke Shaw says the whole squad need to consider whether they are good enough to play for Manchester United as the long-serving defender apologised to fans for a miserable end to their wretched season.

The Red Devils’ worst top-flight season since relegation in 1973-74 was compounded by a 1-0 defeat in Wednesday’s all-or-nothing Europa League final against Tottenham in Bilbao.

Shaw was involved as Brennan Johnson scored what proved to be the deciding goal as Spurs, who sit 17th in the Premier League, inflicted a first Europa League loss of the campaign on 16th-placed United.

Asked to sum things up after the worst possible end to a horrible season, the England international said: “I think how you just said it.

“It’s hard to put into words the season, but I think for a club like Manchester United, it’s not really good enough.

“I think definitely me and I think all of us have to question ourselves tonight. Are we good enough to be here? Because this club, this season, it’s not acceptable.

“We know that and it’s down to us. So, like I said, I think it’s really tough to take.

“It’s hard to say anything else really apart from what I’ve just said. I think we have to look at ourselves. Something has to change.”

Shaw has tasted many lows and played under a variety of managers since joining United from Southampton in 2014, with mentality often cropping up as key to their issues.

But the England international remains convinced that head coach Ruben Amorim is the right man to turn things around.

Get 3 months free with ExpressVPN

Servers in 105 CountriesSuperior SpeedsWorks on all your devices

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

“I think a lot of it has to do with mindset,” Shaw said. “I think self-belief is a big thing in football.

“I think a lot of times this season we’ve gone into games not believing that we can win. I think there’s a lot of things that need to be changed. I think that’s why Ruben is 100 per cent the right person.

“He knows and he can see day in and day out at the club, not just on the pitch but off the pitch, around the club.

“The standards, the mindset… like I said, I think he sees everything. I think he knows what he needs to change.

“I think, of course, you can’t change everything at once. Of course I think the results have not been good at all.

“But I think ultimately it’s us as players that step onto that pitch. It’s us as players that need to take the responsibility of these results.

“Like I said, it’s not good enough for a club like this. I think this club should be at the top of the Premier League, fighting for big trophies. At the moment, it’s hard to say, but we’re nowhere near that.”

United will now spend a first season without European football since 2014-15, which Shaw acknowledges seriously damages their much-needed rebuild.

“It’s massive,” he said. “I think everyone knew how big this game was.

“Not just to win a trophy but what kind of winning the Europa League, the Champions League, the competitions that this club should be in. But yeah, it’s extremely damaging.

“We’ll have to stand up and take the criticism. Because like I said, us as players, it’s not been nowhere near good enough for a club like Manchester United.

“But what I would like to say is thank you so much to the fans that have stood by us this season. I think of course it’s not been easy.

“Like I said, we take full responsibility but I’d just like to say sorry to them for this season. But also thank you so much for the support, because we take notice of it.

“Like I said, this season has been nowhere near good enough. But they’re there for games and their hearts are in it. I think we really appreciate that.”