"He was right to say what he said about me in pre-season," said Shaw. "We had a discussion then and the plan for me was to get my fitness up. It worked, apart from the injury."
Van Gaal was unhappy with Shaw when he turned up to preseason significantly unfit and immediately set the youngster the task of training on his own to boost his fitness.
The Dutchman said: "Luke needs to be fit and he's not very fit. He can't perform how I want."
Rooney tackle intentional - Van Gaal [AMBIENT]
However, Van Gaal was impressed with Shaw's attitude in training, and said that he said the teenager was "an example" to the rest of his star-studded United squad.
"For him to say I'm an example at a massive club like this is something to be really happy about," the England defender said.
But Shaw's hamstring injury delayed the ex-Southampton star the chance for his debut at the start of the season.
"It was a bit of setback but I've worked hard in the last weeks and had some talks. He's been a great inspiration to me and hopefully I can carry that on."
What an unbelievable experience making my debut for the club and more importantly getting all 3 points. #mufc ??????
The Manchester United youngster experienced a very different debut with the Red Devils compared to his first start with Southampton where he met minnows Stevenage in front of 3,062 fans.
"It's a massive difference," the teenager said. "When I started my debut at Stevenage, I said to myself I want to be playing for the best teams in the best league.
"I've done that at the moment and now it's my chance to keep improving as a player. I feel I can do that now."
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