Luke Shaw takes aim at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick as Erik ten Hag cracks whip at Manchester United

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has aimed a sly dig at former bosses Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick while praising new manager Erik ten Hag as the Dutchman gets down to business at Old Trafford.

After a miserable campaign last time out, Ten Hag was appointed United boss in April and replaces Rangnick who took interim charge after the sacking of club legend Solskjaer in November – with the club in a state of disarray.

The Dutchman’s arrival sparks the dawn of a new era and Ten Hag has wasted no time in getting to grips with his squad and beginning to shape it in his image. Big name outgoings have seen Paul Pogba and Juan Mata depart the club, while work is on going to strengthen the team with new arrivals – namely Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.

Impressively, the former Ajax boss has wasted no time addressing the big questions on United fans lips, stating Harry Maguire will retain the captaincy under his leadership and reiterating that Cristiano Ronaldo is very much a part of his plans for the future.

United’s players are said to have taken quickly to Ten Hag, his philosophy and his training methods – all of which have received high praise – with particular admiration stemming from Shaw who believes structure is the key to United’s success.

“It’s clear that he’s a top, top manager. He has a structure to the way he wants us to play,” said Shaw. “We haven’t had that for quite a while, and it was clear to see last season, which was extremely disappointing. We have to bounce back [from last season] and he has been working us extremely hard, but I think we need it.”

Shaw referenced the dissatisfaction at United’s displays and finishing position last season, but is optimistic that the upcoming campaign has better things in store for the Red Devils under the new management.

“We’re really looking forward to this season because I know it’s going to be much better than the last one.”

United’s pre-season tour sees them visit Thailand, Bangkok, Australia and Norway and their first opposition comes in the form of Liverpool. The Premier League rivals will go head-to-head at the Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand on Tuesday.

The Red Devils begin their Premier League campaign with Brighton & Hove Albion the visitors to Old Trafford on August 7.