Mourinho has created damage with Shaw and Smalling with public criticism, says Keown

Martin Keown has added his voice to those questioning the decision of Jose Mourinho to cast doubt over the commitment of Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling to the Manchester United cause.

The former England international believes that by airing his concerns in public, the Portuguese has only succeeded in creating ‘damage’. 

Shaw and Smalling were missing from the Red Devils fold as they entered the international break with a 3-1 Premier League victory over Swansea City.

Mourinho told MUTV ahead of the game: "Smalling doesn't feel that he can play 100 per cent with his pain.

"Luke Shaw told me this morning that he was not in the condition to play so we had to build a defensive line."

Refusing to let the issue lie, he went on to say: “There is a difference between the brave, who want to be there at any cost, and the ones for whom a little pain can make a difference.

“If I were to speak with the many great football people of this team, they will say many times they played without being 100%. For the team you have to do anything. That is my way of seeing.

“We have players with problems. To compete you have to go to the limit. It is cultural for some - and this is my culture. More than me, it is Man United.”

The respective futures of Shaw and Smalling at Old Trafford have since been called into question, although Mourinho is said to have held talks with both players in an effort to clarify his comments.

Keown believes the whole unfortunate situation could have been avoided if the United boss had kept matters in-house, with it important for there to be clear lines of communication between the playing and coaching staff.

He said in his ‘Tackle Keown’ column for the Daily Mail: “You have to trust your players to manage their own bodies. If you don't allow the player to make that decision then you lose trust. If a manager had fronted me up publicly, I'd be knocking on his door and saying, 'How dare you question me in public'. I've judged that I can't play with that injury.

“Mourinho's comments may have been down to timing. If the players trained the day before and weren't brave enough to pull out earlier, they could have left the manager in a tight spot by withdrawing before the game.

“But Manchester United won the game comfortably and all Mourinho has done is create damage. This would have been better to keep in-house. There is no need to air your dirty laundry in public."