Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire is willing to fight for his place in the Manchester United side having been told by Erik ten Hag that he is good enough to force his way into his team. The club captain lifted his first piece of silverware since joining United on Sunday, but he came on for only the final two minutes, plus stoppages, of the Carabao Cup success against Newcastle and shared trophy duties with Bruno Fernandes, who was skipper on the day.
Harry Maguire said: “I think he has been asked numerous times about my role in interviews and he tells me honestly, he believes in me but this is football. The lads who are playing and starting, Rapha is playing really well and we have seen his ideas, the manager, what he wants, and he does like a left-footed centre-back playing so no, it’s high competition for places. This is Manchester United. We want to win trophies, and big trophies and to do that you need competition for places and the manager speaks to me daily and he really respects me and believes that I am a top centre-half with all the attributes to play in his team but also he understands that the players who are playing – and I understand that the players who are playing – are playing very well.”
Maguire remains club captain at Old Trafford, but it is Fernandes who has worn the armband in his absence on matchday this season. The Carabao Cup is the first trophy United have won since Maguire joined from Leicester City for £80millon in 2019 and the first major medal of his career. Despite not being able to start the game, the 29-year-old was still proud of the achievement.
Harry Maguire said: “I don’t have any mixed emotions, it’s been so long since the club won a trophy, it’s a really good day for the club and the fans. I am club captain and my main job is to move this club forward and to bring success back to the club and [Sunday] has been part of it. Obviously, I am a footballer who wants to play games and I want to lead the boys out of the tunnel at the start of the game but also like I said I understand this is part and parcel of football when you play at the top level and you have got huge competition for places. It’s a real good day for the club and for me and a proud day for my family who were in the stands and saw me lift my first trophy for Manchester United.”
The Carabao Cup was United’s first piece of silverware since 2017 and was described as a “really important” step for the club by Maguire, who also praised the impact Ten Hag is having.
Harry Maguire said: “I think winning games breeds confidence and a good atmosphere amongst the fans and the club. We are all pulling in the same direction, we all want the same thing, we have got a good squad, good competition for places and the manager’s made a big impact on the style of play and in the demands he brings, it seems to be going in a good place.”
It could be the first of several trophies season, with United into the FA Cup fifth round, the Europa League last-16 and still on the fringes of the Premier League title race. Maguire has sensed an improvement in the performances of the team and the understanding of what Ten Hag wants since the season resumed after the World Cup, winning 15 of the 19 games in all competitions in that period.
Harry Maguire said: “I think coming back from the World Cup we have started to play really well, before the World Cup we had great fight and spirit [but] we didn’t really put in the actions that the manager wanted. But since the World Cup we did that. We are in four competitions, three now because we have won one, and it’s going to be tough to win all four but whilst we are in them we go into every game trying to win it, starting with Wednesday.”
