Shaw's diary: Scott and Jesse are the benchmark

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all keeping well and staying safe during lockdown. Things have certainly been pretty hectic in our house, as we’ve got our baby boy Reign keeping us busy.

If we were playing and travelling in the season as normal right now, I wouldn’t get to spend anywhere near as much time with him or see him grow, but the month I’ve spent inside with him has been wonderful. I recognise that I’m very lucky not only to be healthy right now, but also spending so much time with him every day.

I think my favourite part of the day is when he wakes up first thing in the morning, I wake up and see him smiling back at me. That’s just the best thing in the world. It makes it so easy to get up and start the day when he’s there grinning back at you. Waking up, knowing he’s there and he’s happy is the best feeling.

Over the last month, I’ve watched Shrek about 500 times because Reign absolutely loves it, so I’ve watched that and bits of kids’ TV. My girlfriend and I have watched loads of series on TV and Netflix, like Ozark, Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London, and I’ve just started The People versus OJ Simpson. My girlfriend was properly onto me, telling me I had to watch it… it’s a bit mad but really enjoyable so far. I’ve had a bit of time on my Xbox, but not as much as you might expect, just because of the amount of time I’m spending with my family.

Lockdown is hard for everyone, and although I’m lucky to have my family to spend my time with, I can imagine that there could be players struggling with it. Some footballers enjoy their time at home, having downtime inside, but there are others who really enjoy getting out of the house. For them, their day in and day out are vastly different now, so that could be a struggle.

I think working out has been therapeutic for a lot of players. I tend to do that myself, I’ve tended to be in the gym more, just because you feel better after a good workout. Your mind is refreshed, you’ve done something active and worthwhile and you’ve earned some relaxation. It takes a lot of stress away from the situation.

Fitness challenges set by the coaches have been really good for the United lads. Naturally, we all get quite competitive over them. Scotty posted his 5km time on social media last week, which was a joke, something like 16 minutes. I don’t even know if it’s real. Harry did one today at 18 minutes, which is a really good time, but Scotty is a joke.

He’s one of the fittest in the team and, if I’m not wrong, I think his dad was a runner. He must be giving him tips and training him up at the moment. It’s unbelievable how fast that time is. When I saw it, I put it into the treadmill to check the speed, and it was some ridiculous level, just a flat-out sprint, for 5km. Unbelievable. He’s a big, tall lad though, so maybe his big stride had something to do with it, but he’s a machine. Jesse too, actually. Those two are setting the benchmark that everybody needs to get to.

We were all speaking about it earlier on today at our first virtual group training session, which was a big positive for everyone. Because of the squad size, we have to be in separate video groups. We had Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick doing it this morning, checking we were all doing it right, plus the sports scientists.

We were doing core and leg strength exercises because hopefully in the next few weeks we might be edging closer to a return to training. If we’re all at similar fitness levels then we’ll be able to get the ball rolling quicker when we get back to the training ground. Normally we see everyone every day, but obviously now that isn’t the case, so it’s nice to catch up, see some faces and have a few jokes with everyone.

In my group this morning, everyone seemed really happy, well and healthy, which is the most important thing. I think we’re just looking forward, but we know we have to stay patient. We just have to stick with it, listen to the guidelines and rules and just get ready for the end of lockdown so we can all get back to training together.

Until then, everyone stay safe.

Luke.

FAN QUESTIONS

Denis Irwin or Patrice Evra? [via @ErickStranz]
Oh wow. Denis was a little bit before my time, but a lot of people who saw him play more than I have just say that he was fantastic. He was mainly right-footed but could work brilliantly on either side, but then Patrice was more my era and he was absolutely world class. They’re both massive legends, two of the best full-backs we’ve had, but Denis could play either side and I’ve seen clips of him scoring some wonderful free-kicks, so I’ll have to just about go for him.

Do you prefer left-back or left centre-back, where you’ve had some of your best games this season? [via @allano47767911]
I don’t really mind left centre-back because it was obviously something different for me. I thought I’d always prefer left-back because that’s where I’ve always played, but I’ve actually really enjoyed playing left centre-back, so wherever the manager puts me, I’ll play. But if I have to pick one, I’ll go for left-back.

Hardest opponents you’ve faced? [via @DebnamCareyUK]
People always think I’m joking, but one of my hardest games ever was against Victor Moses when I was coming in as a 17-year-old at Southampton. Maybe because I was so young. He was really quick, direct, strong and that was a challenge for me. I’ve played against the likes of Gareth Bale, Messi and Hazard, and they were all so good, but I always remember Victor Moses as a really tough opponent as well.

Which player has helped you develop the most over the years? [via @sammy_7210]
That’s tough. There have been a few… I think back when Ibra was at the club, he would push everyone mentally and physically in training. He made you stronger and I took a lot from him when he was at the club. The way he was, he could be very challenging, but he pushes everyone because he wants to win and he makes you mentally strong as well. Another one I’d say is Pogba. He’s always been good with me. He’s always telling me to believe in myself, telling me that he believes in me, so he’s one that I’d say always pushes me in training. He’s always said positive things to me that have driven me on, so I’d have to say Paul is a big influence.