Luke Shaw admits Manchester United were “horrendous” against West Ham and says the players need to take responsibility for the team’s poor form.
The left-back, from Kingston-upon-Thames, has apologised to supporters for United’s performance in the 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium and said the players needed to take a hard look at themselves.
The loss was United’s third in just seven league games and has left them nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City, as well as increasing the pressure on under-fire manager Jose Mourinho.
Shaw said in several national newspapers: “If you want the truth I think it was honestly horrendous.
“We didn’t look like a team that was going to beat West Ham. I think individually and as a team we were awful.
“That’s not good enough. It’s hard to take and we’re sorry to the fans for what they saw. It was not good enough from a Man Utd team with all the talent we have.”
United’s reverse, which came hot on the heels of their midweek Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Derby, means the Red Devils have their joint-lowest points total in Premier League history at this stage of the season.
That has led to mounting speculation about Mourinho’s future at the club, but Shaw believes it is the players who need to shoulder the blame.
He added: “We have to look at ourselves as players. We’re the ones who go on the pitch. The manager isn’t on the pitch, is he?
“He’s there to put a team out and put a team out that he thinks can win the game. You look at our team and we had a very strong team. No excuses. As players we weren’t good enough.
“It just wasn’t good enough from us. That shouldn’t be happening. Games like this we should be dominating, creating chances, showing people why we deserve to play for Man Utd and that didn’t happen. It was very poor from us. Very, very poor.”