Mourinho hails Shaw after ‘solid’ performance

Manchester United manager bridges gap with defender after publicly criticising him in recent weeks

SUNDERLAND: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has made the first move to heal his strained relationship with England defender Luke Shaw.

Shaw's future has been cast into doubt following public criticism from the Portuguese, after he questioned the commitment of the 21-year-old, who was signed by previous boss Louis van Gaal from Southampton in 2014.

Full-back Shaw missed most of last season through injury, and has struggled to hold down a regular place since Mourinho took charge nine months ago.

However, after insisting he will do everything in his power to be a success at Old Trafford, the full-back made a rare start in front of the England manager Gareth Southgate in a 3-0 win at Sunderland that maintained United's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League by securing a top four finish.

Mourinho revealed how he considered substituting Shaw at half-time as a precautionary measure after he received an early booking, but decided against such a course of action for fear of it being misinterpreted as a latest snub towards the player.

"Luke was one of a number of positive performances," said Mourinho. "He played well. The opposition was not creating big problems but he was solid and confident on the ball. He read the game well so it was good for him.

"I thought about a half-time change, but that was too harsh for him. I wanted him to play a little bit more, so then we're 2-0 up after an hour with their crowd asking for everything and putting the referee under pressure, I didn't want to take any risks because we have no players, and we need him to be available for the next match."

Goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford, who scored in the Premier League for the first time since September, stretched United's unbeaten league run to 21 games as they climbed to fifth, four points behind rivals Manchester City in fourth, with a game in hand.