Shrewsbury midfielder Ian Black: 'Manchester United players to blame for form'

Shrewsbury Town midfielder Ian Black has said that the players at Manchester United have failed to justify their wages so far this season.

The Shrews welcome United to Greenhous Meadow in the FA Cup on Monday night looking to pile further misery on a team who have fallen to consecutive defeats at the hands of Sunderland and FC Midtjylland.

United boss Louis van Gaal has come under increasing pressure but, while acknowledging that his side could put the final nail in the Dutchman's coffin with a victory, Black believes that it is the players who should be getting the bulk of the blame.

"Wayne Rooney has come out and said blame the players which is totally right and I totally agree. They are getting paid X amount of money to perform to the level they should be at that size of club and they have not done it. They have been poor but people write them off and you can never write them off," Black, who is a United fan, told reporters.

"They have been unfortunate with the way they play. People talk about the manager and being under pressure but he is the manager at the biggest club in the world for a reason and he can handle that. People will always criticise the manager but he can only pick the best XI he thinks and it is always the manager who gets the sack.

"It would put massive pressure on him if we can go and achieve a result or draw or win. To be brutally honest I can't tell the board how to act if we beat them. It is Man United and you never know how they are going to turn up. Beating them would be a dream, I can visualise it."

Shrewsbury, who are the lowest-ranked team still in the competition, will face United for the first time in a competitive fixture when they meet on Monday.