If you are not at it, you won’t play – Luke Shaw reveals how Erik Ten Hag picks players

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has revealed that the players who are not playing well are not picked by Erik Ten Hag. Shaw feels earlier the players were picked on their reputation but the Dutchman believes in picking the players who are in form.

Shaw went on to say that Erik Ten Hag wants his players to give their best and there is a no-nonsense policy from him. In fact, Erik Ten Hag has not even played Cristiano Ronaldo consistently after the Portuguese missed the preseason due to personal reasons.

Meanwhile, Luke Shaw joined Manchester United back in 2014 and since then he has played under four coaches. Shaw said that the players have to be at the top of their game in order to earn their place in the starting XI.

Shaw was quoted by the Guardian, “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% 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.”

On the other hand, Shaw played in the first two matches of the season but his performances were not up to the mark. Shaw admitted that he was not playing well and the Dutchman was right in benching him.

“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.”

He continued:

“I just had to keep training hard every day 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; I just had to be there every day with the team, being involved and helping the team, whether that is starting or being on the bench.”