LUKE SHAW has revealed that Manchester United’s players were allowed to swing the lead until ruthless Erik ten Hag came along.
And he points to himself as an example of someone who suffered the consequences of failing to maintain the standards demanded by the Dutchman.
In a direct dig at previous United bosses Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he declares that even when standards dropped on the pitch or in training, under-performing stars were still allowed to keep their places.
But England left-back Shaw stresses not now with Ten Hag around, saying: “The good thing with this manager, this gaffer, is that if you’re not playing well then you won’t play.
“In the past that’s not been the case. But the good thing about this manager is that he’s keeping everyone on their toes.
“He makes sure that everyone is 100% every day. If you’re not at it then you won’t play. That’s a positive thing.”
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Last season was Manchester United’s worst of the Premier League era.
They slumped from second in the previous campaign to sixth, winning only 16 games, scoring just 57 goals and finishing on a record low of 58 points.
But since he replaced Rangnick this summer, Ten Hag has shown the squad that any big name will fall if they don’t produce.
Only on Sunday he dumped Marcus Rashford to the bench after he failed to score in his previous two games.
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Cristiano Ronaldo started just his second Prem game of the season in the scoreless draw with Newcastle United – but was hauled off in favour of Rashford in the second half.
He may now find himself back with the subs again when Tottenham visit Old Trafford tomorrow, having shown how unhappy he was to be replaced against Toon by shaking his head repeatedly as he trudged off.
Skipper Harry Maguire was unceremoniously ditched after the 4 0 humiliation at Brentford in the second game of the season.
He is now nearing fitness after pulling a hamstring in England’s 3 – 3 draw with Germany on September 26, but faces a fight to break up the central defensive partnership of Raphael Varane and £58M summer signing Lisandro Martinez.
Jadon Sancho, Fred and Scott McTominay have also had the tap on the shoulder from Ten Hag – just like Shaw did with Maguire after the Brentford debacle.
He missed four Prem games in a row and over the next 50 days was given just 20 Europa League minutes against Sheriff having been replaced by understudy Tyrell Malacia.
He only took over from the £15M signing from Feyenoord at half time in the 6-3 derby mauling by Manchester City at the start of this month.
SHAW THING
But he doesn’t blame Ten Hag for dropping him, admitting: “To be honest I didn’t really need him to say anything to me.
“I knew. I knew the first two games were nowhere near good enough.
“I completely understood that it was my time to come out of the team.
“The results were bad, my performances were not good enough.
“I just had to keep training hard every day in training so the manager could see I was training hard.
“I was just waiting for my opportunity and had to bide my time because the team were doing well and we were winning. You can’t moan.”
LUKE WANTS MORE
Shaw, in his eighth year at United after arriving for £30M for Southampton, stresses “I think I’m at that age that it’s about time I start being more consistent.
“Over the years I’ve had a lot of ups and down.
“For me that’s not good enough and not what I want to be achieving.
“It’s all about consistency and I just need to keep training hard, keep the focus and give everything I can for the team.“
Shaw suggests that one player who doesn’t have to worry about Ten Hag’s axe right now is diminutive central defender Martinez.
That spells more bad news for Maguire, with Shaw saying he has been “unbelievable” since his £58M entrance from Ajax this summer.
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He adds: “You can see everyone loves him. The fans love him. His left foot is unbelievable.
“His aggression, his passion, we need him in that backline. He brings that every game. I am really pleased to have him in the team.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
