Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom admits that he found it amusing that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho got lampooned for stating an honest assessment of one of his players.
The Manchester United manager took Luke Shaw off at half time against Brighton last weekend and later said that he was not happy with the defender’s performance in the first half at Old Trafford.
Mourinho attracted a storm of criticism for his treatment of the England international and there are suggestions that Shaw wants to leave the club in the summer as a result.
The Portuguese was also accused of bullying the 22-year-old with his criticism, but Heckingbottom believes the whole episode is funny as a manager attracted brickbats for being honest with his views on a player.
He indicated that the lack of characters in football today is down to the fact that most players do not have the habit of hearing honest truths about their performances.
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The Leeds boss stressed a manager cannot hope to improve a player if he cannot be honest with him.
Asked if there are a lack of leaders and characters in the Leeds squad, Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Leeds: “That’s a problem with football in general.
“I am laughing when Jose Mourinho is getting criticised for criticising Luke Shaw.
"How are we going to tell people how to get better if we are not allowed to give them bad news and tell them what they are doing wrong?”
He continued: “For me that’s the theme in general.
“You have got to have that within, you have got to be honest with the players because you are never going to achieve anything on your own.”
