The full back was absent as Mourinho’s stuttering outfit failed to break down Crystal Palace on Saturday after which he accused some players or “lacking heart”.
And while Shaw conceded results like that were not helping their cause he maintained there is a hunger in the dressing room to prove him wrong, starting with a victory against Young Boys in the Champions League tonight.
“Sometimes of course it may look like that [that they lack hunger] but I look around the changing room an training ground and I think everyone wants the same: to win games and climb up the table,” he said
“The last couple of days everyone has been a disappointed it was a massive game [against Palace] after international break and we needed to get the win. It wasn’t to be but we need to fight for the club and the manager starting against Young Boys.
“Everyone in this changing room is a fighter and everyone wants the best for this team and the club. We all want to win trophies.
“But we need to take on board what is said [by the manager] and we have to fight for him and the team, the fans and for the club. We are going through a bad stage at the moment but I know good things are coming our way hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Victory would blast away some of the gathering clouds around Old Trafford after such an underwhelming display at the weekend.
And it could see them ease into the knockout stages of the Champions League if they beat the Swiss champions and Valencia fail to beat Juventus in the other Group H match in Turin.
Europe has provided something of an outlet for domestic frustrations – notably their stirring comeback victory against Juve away from home in the last round of fixtures. However it has also served to highlight their inconsistency.
Shaw admitted it was hard to reconcile a side who can floor the Italian champions yet fail to land a blow on the jaw of Crystal Palace at home.
“It is tough to say what has gone wrong but looking at the games here it just haven’t been dropping for us. Of course it is strange to go to Juve and win but fail to beat Palace but all I can say is we are disappointed and we need to put that right.”
Victor Lindelof faces a number of weeks on the sidelines with what appeared to be a groin injury sustained at the weekend. Even without him, United should have too much tonight for a Swiss side who have shipped 10 in four Champions League group matches and are missing their leading goalscorer Guillaume Hoarau.
If any further fire was needed under them, there is also a piece of unwanted history awaiting should they fail to score tonight having fired blanks in their last two Champions League fixtures at home.
Never in their history have they failed to hit the net in three consecutive European home ties.
“It is nice to have a midweek game so soon after a result which was not what we wants at the weekend. It is a chance to bounce back and clinch qualification.
“Young Boys is not going to be easy but it is a game we should win,” said Shaw.
Ironically Mourinho had also been quoted in an interview with Spanish television criticising his own young players for lacking maturity and surrounding themselves with those unwilling to administer tough love.
Shaw, who has come in for his fair share, maintained it was useful having “a thick skin”. He added: “I think it was a generational thing – nowadays compared to when he was a bit younger – and yes you need thick skin to play under the manager.
“But 100 per cent this club is the biggest club in the world and we are just looking forward to putting things right.”