Shaw: Van Gaal's Fitness Claim Was Fair

Luke Shaw admits he is not yet fit enough to fulfil the wing-back role in Louis van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation but the Manchester United starlet insists it will not take him long to get up to speed.

Shaw has been training on his own with head of fitness Tony Strudwick and completed a rigorous session on the morning the penalty shoot-out win over Inter Milan, a match he was asked to take part in at the 11th hour following a late injury to Reece James.

Speaking after the final whistle at the FedEx Field in Washington DC, Shaw was asked if it had been a difficult 24 hours for him following the manager’s remarks about his fitness: “Obviously I have seen that, but it's something I totally agree with. To play in this formation, you have to be really fit.

“I am fit but I am not at the high level the manager demands. I have got to get fitter to get up and down, but it's something I have got to work on and, in this 45 minutes, I felt really good so I am looking forward to keep progressing to be ready for the start of the season.”

Shaw acknowledges he was caught off guard by the levels required by van Gaal’s new system but says he is determined to make the grade at United. “Yeah, it was a surprise. I didn't come into United thinking it would be much harder. That's something that I think I made a mistake on.

“I thought it was just going to be the same but it's the biggest club in the world and there are world-class players in training. That is something that is going to push me on and it's something I am looking forward to doing.”

Asked if van Gaal has been hard on him thus far, Shaw said: “Yeah, but that's something I want and I need to push on so they can do what they want but it will only help me in the long run.”