Gary Neville has urged Paul Pogba to concentrate more at Manchester United in order to win back his place in the team.
France international Pogba has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho in recent weeks and started on the bench for United’s Champions League defeat to Sevilla, as well as the FA Cup victory over Brighton.
And United legend Neville believes that while the former Juventus midfielder is the right fit for the club, he needs to focus more to ensure he brings consistency to his performances.
He told Sky Sports : “Paul Pogba has got the character and personality to play for United, there’s no doubt about that. He’s played in the biggest matches in Europe at a huge club in Juventus.
“What he has got to do is perform consistently. Some will say it is down to the position he plays, while some will say it is his lack of concentration and focus.
“It is never a matter of a black and white in the sense that there’s always a player’s reason and always a manager’s reason, but as I look at it he needs to play with higher levels of concentration.
“Everything about Manchester United is a crisis. Every time they lose a game – like against Sevilla – everything is a crisis and there is no reasoned level being applied.”
Neville also discussed Luke Shaw’s situation at Old Trafford, with the United defender having attracted criticism from Mourinho after he was withdrawn at half-time of the win over Brighton.
He added: “To be honest with you, I can’t help feeling the whole Luke Shaw issue is a distraction from the critical aspect of the season.
“United spent a lot of money and the aspiration was to win the Premier League and go as far as they could in the Champions League and obviously neither have happened.
“The issue for me isn’t the individuals – whether Shaw, Paul Pogba or Alexis Sanchez are underperforming – but that the team aren’t very consistent, which over the course of Mourinho’s career his teams have always been.
“If you look at the performances against Liverpool and then Sevilla, they were night and day, and this looks like a group of individuals rather than a group functioning as a team.
“What I would say about Shaw is that the talent and ability are there, but his job as a footballer is to be prepared to perform every day and do every single thing in his life well to be a United player.
“At the moment, his potential is not being recognised. I’ve got a great belief in Luke Shaw and the reality is it would be a great shame if he leaves United without fulfilling his potential.
“There’s a lot of players out there with less ability but maximising their potential and I just hope he can get there.”
