Weekly Football Phrase: Put a Shift In

For this week's weekly football phrase we explain the football cliche to put a shift in.



* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below and listening to the audio.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

* This post also features in our podcast show, along with a main report and our weekly predictions.





To Put a Shift In

This cliche is often used in football to talk about how much effort a player gives in the match. 'A shift' refers to a person's working time, particularly when talking about physical work. 'To put in' means to do, so to put a shift in means to work hard. Football pundits, commentators and managers use this phrase to say that a player has tried very hard for the team. To put a shift in, however, doesn't mean the player was particularly skillful. It is often used to highlight the fact that another player didn't put a shift in, didn't try hard. You can also say, put in a shift.



* For example: Aaron Ramsey praises Arsenal for putting in a good shift after Saturday's 2-0 win at Sunderland.

* For example: Balotelli put in a decent shift, but still no Premier League goal.