Shaw Hopes United's Luck Is Turning

Luke Shaw believes Manchester United's luck could be turning after the 2-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday.

The summer signing from Southampton made his debut in the narrow triumph and impressed but, like everybody else of a United persuasion, was relieved to see Kevin Nolan's late effort disallowed for offside. The Reds have arguably not had the rub of the green in the early part of Louis van Gaal's tenure, having penalty claims rejected against Swansea City, Sunderland and Burnley, while several calls went against the team at Leicester City.

Wayne Rooney's red card was another blow at the weekend, and the skipper faces a three-match suspension, but Shaw was pleased to hang on for a welcome win.

"It was a tough debut, I would say," said Shaw. "Obviously, we went down to 10 men and it’s never easy but we all fought hard and showed how much we wanted these three points. It means a lot to us. Overall, I’m really pleased with how my debut went but the main thing, for me, was to get the win."

Shaw says preparation on the training pitch was key with van Gaal having to field an inexperienced backline featuring two debutants - Paddy McNair being the other one - and Marcos Rojo switching to centre-back.

"We focused a lot during the week on how we were going to set up," explained Shaw. "We all knew what we had to do and, at the end of the day, the manager said it as well – it doesn’t matter how old you are as long as you are going to put 100 per cent in and play your best. It’s all you can do.

"My heart sank [when Nolan appeared to equalise]. I didn’t know if it was offside. It was close. We haven’t had much luck either with decisions. We have actually had a lot of bad luck, even with Wazza’s red card as I would say there was a handball before that but the referee didn’t stop play. Earlier in the game, Sakho did the same to me. But I just focus on winning games and I’ll keep doing that."

Shaw was pleased to last the full game, even though his number was initially held up for Tom Thorpe to replace him in stoppage time.

"That was confusing!" he admitted. "I felt really good, especially in the first half, but it was going to be tough as we went down to 10 men. I felt a little bit of cramp but it’s normal as I’ve not played 90 minutes for four or five weeks. I was glad to get through it and I’m feeling really good.

"The injury was a bit of setback but I’ve worked hard in the last weeks and had some talks [with the boss]. He’s been a great inspiration to me and hopefully I can carry that on. For him to say I’m an example at a massive club like this is something to be really happy about. Like I've said, the aim is to win the next three games and carry on producing good performances and getting the points."