Football Paper Round: Jose Mourinho blasts Luke Shaw but sticks by Wayne Rooney despite 'midfield mess'

Mourinho blasts Shaw after loss

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho criticised left-back Luke Shaw's contribution after the loss to Watford on Sunday, but admitted that there are more problems than just the young defender's defensive capabilities - reports the Mirror.

" For the second goal, Amrabat receives the ball and our left-back is 25 metres from him instead of five metres," a furious Mourinho said after the game. "But even at 25 metres, you have to jump and go and press, but no, we wait. This is a tactical but also a mental attitude."

West Ham struggle to keep 'wonderkid'

Reece Oxford is stalling over a new West Ham contract, reports the Daily Mail, and Manchester United are ready to pounce for the Hammers 'wonderkid'. The club and Oxford's representatives held talks over the summer, but a new agreement has not been reached and United are first in line to take advantage in the transfer market, with Arsenal and Manchester City also interested in the youngster. Oxford signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with Nike earlier this year and is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in the country.

Rooney and Jose's midfield mess

Jose Mourinho's decision to play Wayne Rooney as a deep-lying midfielder was inexplicable and a damning indictment of United's disjointed start to the season - writes the excellent Paul Doyle in the Guardian. United's new manager laughed at the idea of using his captain in midfield prior to the start of the campaign, but just five games in and Rooney popped up in that deep-lying role in the loss to Watford.

" The balance is not right at United," Doyle says. "To get it right will take time, and the clarity of thought to recognise that Rooney’s is up."

Source: Eurosport