Manchester United cannot afford another slow start, says Luke Shaw
Saturday 17 September 2016 15:31, UK
Luke Shaw admits Manchester United cannot afford another slow start if they are to prevent their run of back-to-back defeats getting any worse at Watford.
United begun the new season with three straight victories, but a 2-1 derby defeat at home to Manchester City and 1-0 loss away to Feyenoord in the Europa League has thrown Jose Mourinho's side off kilter.
Both losses were slender and could have been avoided were it not for ineffective first-half displays - something Shaw says cannot be repeated when they return to domestic action with a trip to Watford on Sunday.
"We need to start the game sharp," the left-back, who missed the match in the Netherlands as a precaution due to a tight hamstring, said.
"The last two games we've played, we haven't made the best of starts especially in the first half, and we need to change that.
"It was frustrating to watch [against Feyenoord]. We didn't have many chances against us and their goal was a clear offside - we were unfortunate with that.
"We created a couple of chances, not many but the ones we had were quite clear. We were unlucky not to score.
"Both games are gone now and we need to look forward. We need to focus on ourselves and how we start.
"We need to get off to a quick start and hopefully get an early goal that would settle us."
