Our Manchester United fans here in the Transfer Tavern will be hoping that their players come back from the international break ready to lock up second place and have a real go of it in both cup competitions.

Jose Mourinho has taken a huge step towards securing the Red Devils’ highest league finish since winning it last in 2013, by beating fierce rivals Liverpool 2-1 and opening up a bit of breathing space between the teams.

Indeed, United at the moment are on a little run of momentum and certainly look in good form following wins over Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Liverpool in recent weeks. However, Mourinho is not one to become complacent and he will see the international break as a time to refresh and kick on in the cup competitions in order to bring some silverware to the club for the third year running.

Although, our landlord feels like it’s also a time for players to take a look at themselves and reassess things going forward, as he takes a look at which two United players should be doing so…

Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba, in the past couple of months, has seen his first real rocky patch under Mourinho, how he responds to it fully is still yet to be seen with him being in and out of the team due to illness and injury.

However, all of the fans here in the pub want to see the Pogba that destroyed Serie A with Juventus and that player needs to be found as soon as possible. The Frenchman can take this time away with his country to level up and come back to Old Trafford with a different mindset.

Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw seemed to have turned a corner at the start of the year with some fine displays and a good run in the team, however, the evergreen Ashley Young doesn’t seem to be going away from taking his spot on the left.

Shaw, with all his ability, should be commanding that role and leave Mourinho no option but to play him. During the break, Shaw should take a look at why he’s not the first choice left-back and start taking the steps to make that happen.