Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed that Jose Mourinho's public criticism of Luke Shaw has provided an unwelcome distraction for the club.

The Red Devils boss has hit out at the left-back on a number of occasions over the past 18 months, most recently doing so last weekend following the 2-0 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Mourinho hauled Shaw off at half time and questioned the England international's ability to work for the side, which has led to fresh speculation regarding his long-term future at Old Trafford.

Neville can understand why Mourinho is frustrated with the player, but cannot help but feel that the public scathing is unnecessary at this point in the season.

"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," he wrote in his column for Sky Sports. "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."

Despite his latest setback, teammate Ashley Young has backed Shaw to get his United and England career back on track and become one of the world's best.