Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has warned every player in his squad to toughen up and prove they can play for the club.
The Portuguese delivered the message to the players, after publicly criticizing Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw, who ruled themselves out of the 3-1 win at Swansea last weekend .
He told them to “man up” and stick with him through the bad times, if they want to enjoy success at United.
Players’ union chief executive Gordon Taylor has waded into the row on behalf of Smalling and Shaw, accusing Mourinho of lacking empathy with modern-day footballers.
“I was disappointed with that because, knowing the individuals, they are both highly thought of,” Taylor said.
“They have personal problems which I don’t need to relate, but sometimes a manager needs to be a psychologist as well.
“Also, we’re all human beings. That’s why, with management these days, I’m not talking about being soft, I’m talking about being understanding. Very few make it in the game and those that do have got a real resolve and a resilience.
“So to suggest that any player is being not as tough as he could be, those days are gone — when we had no substitutes and were on with a broken leg and you still carried on. Surely we’ve come beyond that.”
