United slumped to a third consecutive defeat under the Portuguese on Sunday, losing 3-1 to Watford at Vicarage Road. Mourinho then raised eyebrows by singling out defender Luke Shaw for criticism, despite Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly also struggling on a chastening afternoon for the Red Devils. It came just a week after Mourinho aimed sly digs at Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mhkhitaryan, talking about "some really poor individual performances" after their 2-1 derby defeat to rivals Manchester City.

Mourinho looks shocked as fan wants to shake his hand after Watford defeat Sun, September 18, 2016 Jose Mourinho looked a little shocked when a fan wanted to shake his hand after Manchester United lost to Watford on Sunday... Play slideshow Eamonn and James Clarke 1 of 5 Jose Mourinho didn't have a great Sunday afternoon as his Manchester United side lost 3-1 to Watford...

And Pearce believes Mourinho should adopt a softer approach when criticising the younger players of the squad. "He looked at Lingard after the derby game and said it was too much for him," Pearce told Sky Sports. "He blamed Luke Shaw for the second goal [against Watford]. You think he's probably better off not having a pop at the youngsters.

GETTY Jose Mourinho has been warned by Stuart Pearce that he must treat young players in the right way