Luke Shaw has defended under-fire manager Jose Mourinho by insisting that Manchester United's players are to blame for Saturday's "horrendous" defeat to West Ham United.

The Red Devils fell 3-1 at the London Stadium for their third defeat in seven Premier League outings this term, making it their worst top-flight start in nearly three decades.

Mourinho has taken the brunt of the blame and is reportedly on the verge of losing his job, but Shaw has suggested that he and his teammates are more deserving of the criticism for their display in East London.

"We have to look at ourselves as players," he told reporters. "We're the ones who go on the pitch. The manager isn't on the pitch is he? If you want the truth I think it was honestly horrendous.

"We didn't look like a team that was going to beat West Ham. I think individually and as a team we were awful. That's not good enough. It's hard to take and we're sorry to the fans for what they saw.

"Obviously at half time there were a few words and I think it was needed. It was wake up and words that he's said before: we need to be moving, we need to concentrate more, we need to want the ball, we need to be playing. That didn't happen. It's disappointing and a very, very bad day for us."

United are back in action on Tuesday night with a home match against Valencia in the Champions League.