Luke Shaw details how Ten Hag has helped him find form for World Cup

Erik ten Hag On Referees Decisions

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Luke Shaw says he has to banish the inconsistency in form and fitness that has held him back for both club and country. The Manchester United and England left-back admitted he has failed to string together long enough periods of fitness and focus.

But after returning to form and favour at United after six games on the bench, he insisted that at 27, now is the time to start delivering. “I think I’m at that age that I think it’s about time I start 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. 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, who looks a certainty for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad, has credited United boss Erik ten Hag for focusing his mind. The Dutchman dropped Shaw after two poor performances at the start of the season, leaving him out for six games until the Manchester derby.

“The good thing with this manager, this gaffer, is that if you’re not playing well then you won’t play,” he said. “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 per cent every day. If you’re not at it then you won’t play. We all know that and that’s a positive thing.” Shaw admitted Ten Hag did not feel the need to explain anything to him about his non-selection, leaving him instead to plot his own path back to favour.

“I didn’t really need him to say anything to me. I knew. I knew the first two games were nowhere near good enough,” said Shaw. “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 and bide my time because the team were doing well and we were winning.” United’s goalless draw with Newcastle was a disappointing effort after a run of five wins in their last six Premier League games.

But Shaw insisted they need to bounce back against Spurs followed by a trip to Stamford Bridge to tackle in-form Chelsea on Saturday. “We’re disappointed at where we want to be and what we want to achieve in games like this at home to Newcastle we have to win.

“We know that and it was the start of a big week with three games starting with this one. It wasn’t the result we wanted and we know that, but we have to put it behind us and we have a big game against Spurs. We have to win that.”

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