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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Richard Fay

'We've been drawn back in' - Luke Shaw makes Manchester United admission over top four battle

It has been a gruelling slog of a season for Manchester United, and it isn't over yet. Erik ten Hag's side have gone the full 12 rounds across four competitions this season and will have played 62 competitive matches by the time the full-time whistle blows in the FA Cup final.

There have been highs and lows, the latest of which came in the 99th minute on Thursday night, when Alexis Mac Allister clinically dispatched a penalty after Luke Shaw's silly handball.

United have no time to feel sorry for themselves, though. They must roll with the punches and go again on Sunday afternoon, another important match in a top-four battle they feel they should have already won weeks ago.

Read next: How United should line up vs West Ham

"I think we have to be honest; that is what is even more disappointing. It was extremely comfortable at one point, but with the way we have been playing and the results we've had, we've been drawn back into a fight that we didn't want to be in," Shaw admitted after the Brighton loss.

"We have to refocus; we have to get ready because West Ham are fighting for their lives, and whenever we go there, it is a tough game. We need to move on quickly from this and refocus."

It speaks volumes about Shaw's character that he is the only United player brave enough to face the media after such a gut-wrenching ending to the match on Thursday night.

The England international hardly put a foot wrong in his makeshift central defensive role; the issue was that he momentarily put his hand in the wrong place instead.

As he spoke to us shortly after the full-time whistle, he revealed nothing had been said in the shell-shocked dressing room at that point. The time for talking will come when they face West Ham on Sunday night.

"It is really deflating in there. Everyone knows how I feel. They, of course, know I am disappointed with myself, and I know I cost us a point. We have to move on from it quickly. It is still in our hands; we are still four points clear. We have got to move on quickly from this. The game on Sunday is massive. They are fighting for their lives at home; it is going to be a really tough game."

United have now taken just one point from their away matches against other top-nine sides in the Premier League, but there is at least a positive in that they've taken 19 from their seven away trips against the bottom nine.

They have made a good habit of beating those teams at the wrong end of the table, and that will again be crucial when they face a West Ham side battling relegation.

Shaw added: "There are no easy games in this league. Every game is tough; teams are fighting for their lives. It is not easy. We need points, and we need them quick, and we have to start with that on Sunday.

"They are a really good team with really good players and have good momentum. We obviously know how good their crowd is and the situation they are in. They will be fired up, and that is an occasion we have to be ready for. Play the game, not the occasion."

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