Revealed: How Ten Hag is ‘keeping Man Utd on their toes’
Suraj Radia
- 18 Oct 2022 17:29 BST
- 4 min read
Erik ten Hag is starting to prove he’s the right man for Manchester United, with senior players admitting they are finally being held accountable for bad performances.
Concerns were raised over Ten Hag’s suitability for the job after the former Ajax boss lost his first two games in charge to leave United bottom of the Premier League table for the first time in 30 years.
However, they have since gone on a run of just one defeat in their last seven league games and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro have discovered that they cannot be guaranteed a starting spot through reputation alone.
Luke Shaw is another player who has found minutes hard to come by after being replaced by new signing Tyrell Malacia at left-back but the England international has insisted he understands Ten Hag’s reasoning behind dropping him.
Shaw started United’s opening double defeats but didn’t make his next league appearance until nearly two months later, having been subbed at half-time of the 4-0 loss to Brentford.
“I didn't really need [Ten Hag] to say anything to me - I knew,” Shaw said. '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.”
Shaw added: “The good thing with this manager is that if you're not playing well then you won't play. In the past that's not been the case but I think the good thing about this manager is that he's keeping everyone on their toes.
“He makes sure that everyone is 100 percent every day. If you're not at it then you won't play. That's a positive thing. We all know that. And for me I've just got to keep working harder.”
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Shaw searching for consistency
Shaw has endured a turbulent career since becoming the most expensive teenager in the world when he signed for United for £30 million in 2014.
Injuries blighted his first few seasons at Old Trafford but Shaw was named in the Premier League Team of the Year in 2021 before only making 20 appearances in the following campaign.
Luke Shaw believes Manchester United are showing clear signs of improvement under Erik ten Hag but has called for patience during a transitional period under the Dutchman.#MUFC pic.twitter.com/dVsopgZ73Q
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) October 17, 2022
The 27-year-old is out of contract next summer and has admitted he needs to be more consistent in order to succeed in his career.
“I'm at that age that I think it's about time I started being more consistent,” he said. “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. For me it's all about consistency and I just need to keep training hard, keep the focus and give everything I can.”
