Shaw: Its My Time To Step Up

Although disappointed for his team-mate, Luke Shaw hopes Eric Bailly's injury will allow him to step up and prove himself during a vital run of upcoming games for Manchester United.

The young left-back returned from an injury of his during the 0-0 draw at Liverpool, before featuring against Fenerbahce in the Europa League and again in Wednesday's EFL Cup win over Manchester City.

Daley Blind covered for Shaw at left-back during his absence but the Dutchman is set to move back inside to centre-back, with Bailly and also Chris Smalling nursing injuries. That means Shaw is likely to reclaim his position at left-back on a long-term basis and the 21-year-old is hungry to impress Jose Mourinho, particularly after missing out on the squad that faced Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend.

"It’s normal you’re frustrated because I would have loved to have played," Shaw told reporters at Old Trafford this week. "But obviously, with Eric’s injury now, it might be my time to step up and show the manager what I can do, and to show that he can trust me."

Shaw admitted the injured Bailly will be a "massive" loss for the Reds heading into the busy winter schedule. "He has played in all of the games and has been one of our best players each game. I don't think he's had an off day because he's still so young and he brings confidence and calmness to our defence when he gets the ball; sometimes he knows when to clear it but he likes to play from the back.

"That's what was good for us because we like to start from the back and go through the midfield and attack. He's going to be a very big miss but I think [against City] people staked their claim to play."

The former Southampton man also confessed he took time to grow into the match against City, but was happy with his performance and hopes to get another run-out against Burnley at Old Trafford this weekend.

"The first half wasn't the best of mine," he said. "I thought I did good but for some of their crosses I maybe wasn't getting too tight, but Jesus [Navas] is a very quick player and it was quite tough.

"But I came out in the second half and felt much better. I was closing him sharply, we made sure he got no crosses in and I think, at the end of the day, I feel really good. Hopefully I play on Saturday and get another 90 minutes and a good result with that."

United are now preparing for two Premier League matches against Burnley and Swansea City, which are sandwiched around the Europa League trip to Fenerbahce. Shaw hopes the Reds can win all three matches and enter the upcoming international break with a positive frame of mind.

"Nothing is easy and no fixtures in the Premier League are easy. We’ve seen that time and time again. People might think that's an easy game and end up losing them. I think it's time to start focusing on every game like a final and playing like a final as well.

"We’ve got Burnley at home, which is a must-win, and we know Swansea will be a very tough game. We’ve got Fenerbahce and that is a very tough place to go. We need to get maximum points because it's our time to start pushing up the table."