Man United are attempting to pick themselves up after the wreckage of the 2024/25 season.
Luke Shaw stood in front of the press to reflect on a rough year for himself and the team. The club wants to move forward, but it will only happen if there is consensus that "everyone has to put the team first."
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‘He’s extremely tough on the group’
Ahead of the new campaign, Man United are on tour in the USA. After a 0-0 draw against Leeds United in Sweden, the squad set off for their stint in the States, where they have beaten West Ham United 2-1 in their first fixture in the country. Shaw is enjoying the experience of being abroad again.
“Sometimes when you're back home, you don't always get to see fans from abroad and other countries. And that's why I think we love being able to travel around in the summer.”
He appreciates how fans from across the globe get a better chance of watching their club first hand.
“Now we get to come to places and experience the fans and meet the fans that and we can give love back to them and hopefully we can put on a good show for them tomorrow night as well.”
This time is also an opportunity for Ruben Amorim to address the problems he sees on the pitch.
Erik ten Hag lost his job in October last year, but Ruben Amorim did not oversee his first fixture in the dugout for another month in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town. He had to juggle ventures in the domestic cups, the Premier League, and an eventual excursion to the final of the Europa League.
Now, he can dedicate all his work to improving fitness, refining tactical ideas, and resetting standards with the arrivals into the camp. The defender deems that the 40-year-old is a demanding character.
“His mentality, his demands, he's extremely tough on the group. I think you know he leaves no stone unturned, and I think that there are no stragglers in this group anymore. I think everyone has to put the team first. He's made that clear. He’s picking players on who he feels will be best for the team.”
At the start of the preseason, five men seemed to be ousted from the squad. Marcus Rashford is on loan at Barcelona, while Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Tyrell Malacia are all looking for new places to play. Shaw named no individuals but stood by his manager's decisions.
“That’s his choice. As players, we're fully behind him, his ideas and what he wants to implement in this team. We feel like a real team. This preseason, since I've been back, the group is so together.”
Shaw senses that if the unity in the locker room remains, the side should play much better this year.
“I think that's something that we need to keep to make us more of a family and everyone all together and we're all driving in the same direction.”
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‘We all have to have the same ambitions’
Shaw's stance on the targets for the team this year in the Premier League will leave many surprised.
“The aim has to be to win the Premier League.”
He knows that whatever the Red Devils end up in the standings, they cannot afford to be as bad as they were last term. Their record of only 44 goals scored represented the fifth worst in the division.
They also concluded the campaign in fifteenth place. It marked a drastic drop from the eighth position in the 2023/24 season, which saw their worst finish in the history of the Premier League era.
“I know people will be questioning me for saying it after last season, but it has to be that. It's not just me that thinks that. I'm sure the whole team, if you ask them, I think that they all have the same aims.”
The defender also declared that Amorim has held the group to the highest standards behind the scenes.
“Even the manager: he probably wouldn't say it in the in the press, but we all have to have the same beliefs and ambitions and that real family sort of feeling together and all striving for the same thing.”
The 30-year-old was also open enough to admit his last campaign was not one he wishes to remember.
Knee and calf injuries meant that he missed the first three months of the 2024/25 season before he returned to action at the end of November. Shaw then suffered more muscle issues, ruling him out from the start of December until the beginning of April. Now, he is just eager to stay in good health.
“Last year was awful. It was not what I would wish on anyone really. It was really tough for me, but I think I've got to put that behind me, focus on what's coming up in the future. I think that, for me, expectations are that I can stay fit and give the manager an option for whatever he may need.”
