Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has admitted that watching rivals Manchester City win the treble last season was ‘hard to take’.
Pep Guardiola’s side completed a historic treble-winning season after lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, emulating Manchester United’s feat from the 1998/99 campaign.
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United failed in their bid to stop City’s treble chase after losing the FA Cup final to their crosstown rivals and Shaw admits the triumph of their city neighbours was tough to watch.
“It hurt a lot. A lot,” Shaw said, as per the BBC.
“All of us as players felt that, especially for me, seeing them come to the England camp. It was really hard to take. We can’t let that happen again.
“It’s our time now to start putting a stamp on things and not letting it always be so easy for them because, in the past, it’s looked like that.
“As players, we can’t accept that any more.”
United will hope to improve on an encouraging first campaign under Erik ten Hag last season, as the Red Devils secured Champions League football and ended a six-year wait for silverware with League Cup success.
Shaw – who is now the club’s longest-serving player after David de Gea’s departure – believes his side are on the right road to challenging City for major trophies and believes the ‘culture has changed’ at Old Trafford after a barren period.
“The culture has changed,” Shaw added.
“It’s the attitude, the way we train, the intensity, the application that everyone brings in day in, day out. The manager demands that every single day. Even when you’re at home he wants you to be at your best. He wants you to be doing the right things, living the right way, because football is our life – it’s what we do day in, day out – and we need to do everything we can to get to the maximum level.”
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