mourinho hail fit again shaw

Jose Mourinho paid tribute to England left-
back Luke Shaw as he continued his

comeback from a 10-month injury lay-off in
the new Manchester United manager's first
game in charge of the club.
Shaw, out since suffering a double leg break
in a Champions League tie at PSV
Eindhoven, came through the first 45
minutes of a 2-0 victory at Championship
side Wigan as the Portuguese manager
began the latest chapter of his career in
winning style.
"When I found Luke at the training ground it
was a surprise for me because I thought he
couldn’'t be ready to train without any type
of limitation but he did fantastic in the
summer," said Mourinho.
"He sacrificed his holiday. He stayed in
Manchester and was at the training ground
every day putting himself in condition. Of
course you lose a bit of sharpness of
condition and confidence that is normal but
he is trying hard.
"He was mad to play for more than just 45
minutes but for me it is better 45 safe
minutes than more, so let's go step by
step."
Shaw, 21, looked composed and fit, even in
such low-key surroundings, and is clearly
relishing the challenge of re-establishing
himself in the United line-up under the new
manager.
"I'm just looking forward and to carry on
doing what I did last year from the start,"
said Shaw.
"Everyone helped me from the club and my
family and friends played a massive part in
helping me through so a massive thanks to
all them.
"I don't want to put things in my mind, I am
going to take it as it comes. The main thing
is to get through pre-season and to be
ready. Every pre-season is important. But I
have been out for 10 months and I can't
wait to get going."
Shaw's return was just one of the positive
aspects of Saturday's friendly as Mourinho
was without 14 international players, who
have been granted an extended summer
break, but still handed debuts to nearly £60
million (71.7 million euros) of new signings
in defender Eric Bailly and midfielder
Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
On a personal level, Mourinho was also
handed a warm response from the 5,500
United supporters who had made the short
journey to Wigan to support their team.
"It is nice to feel welcome and that they are
behind the team," said Mourinho. "My
reaction is that honestly I would prefer them
to go with the players.
"I prefer them to go with the team, I prefer
them to go with Man United. They are the
ones on the pitch and they are the ones
that need support and if I could tell them
that I would tell them directly: first the
players. I am the last one after them.
"It is nice to feel that the things I liked in
the game they also liked, you could feel
from some of their reactions that they liked
it."
United now travel to China for friendly
games against Borussia Dortmund in
Shanghai and a Manchester derby with City
in Beijing.
The 14 United players who were on
international duty this summer, including
England trio Wayne Rooney, Marcus
Rashford and Chris Smalling, return to the
first team fold this week, although Mourinho
claims they will not play in the games in
China.
"Basically in China I will play with these
guys that are training for 10 days and the
Rooneys and Rashfords and Smallings, these
guys are coming to China without training
so I am not going to play them," he
explained.
"I have two training processes, one for those
that are close to (full) condition and one
process for the players coming from their
holidays."