Luke Shaw has praised England manager Gareth Southgate for creating an "enjoyable" environment to escape his Manchester United woes. The left-back scored England's equaliser in their 2-1 win against Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday evening.
The Three Lions welcomed Switzerland for a friendly, as they continue their preparations for this year's World Cup in Qatar. Breel Embolo's first-half header gave the visitors the lead before goals from Shaw and captain Harry Kane snatched the win.
Shaw, 26, has endured a difficult season at Old Trafford. His performances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his successor Ralf Rangnick have been questioned, with some insisting he was fortunate to be included in the England squad for this month's friendlies.
United are currently sixth in the Premier League, four points behind Arsenal in fourth having played a game more. They failed to challenge in the EFL Cup, FA Cup and Champions League, extending their wait for another trophy into a sixth year.
Speaking after Saturday evening's game, Shaw discussed Southgate's work and United's campaign - admitting it's "hard to enjoy it" when the team keeps losing. "I think the environment here that Gareth creates, you always enjoy it," said the defender.
"When I come here it's about enjoyment and playing games with a smile on your face and enjoying it here when I come here, I always do that. We all love playing for our country, when we're here we purely focus on what's happening here, my main focus is England at this time."
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When asked if he needs to be happy to play well, Shaw added: "I think everyone does. It's always important to feel like you're wanted. Especially here, I always feel that. I'm not saying I don't at United, but here the way things are, I feel wanted and enjoy my football.
"A big part of football is enjoyment. It's hard to enjoy it when we're losing and not playing well at club level. We have to face that. This season it's not been good enough so it's hard to enjoy it. We know we've got a lot to improve at the club. Right now we're here with England so we focus on that."
Shaw's goal was a superb left-footed hit on the edge of the box, evoking memories of his strike against Italy in the final of Euro 2020. Both goals were scored at that end of Wembley. "It was a bit of a deflection!" joked Shaw when asked about his equaliser.
"I think in this formation with the five, Gareth and Steve have talked about the wing-backs not just creating chances but also scoring their own goals. That's a vital part of wing-backs nowadays. It's nice for me to add another to the tally. I obviously haven't had many, so it's nice to score here in front of your own fans. Hopefully more to come."
Shaw added: "Same corner, wasn't it? Of course it's a special feeling. Sometimes you can't get your head around it. It's always nice to score, but I think more importantly tonight was about the performance, winning the game, keeping the momentum going.
"We mixed the team up and there was a few players who made their debuts, they should be proud of their performances because they were excellent."
