John Barnes has slammed the criticism of Manchester United defender Harry Maguire.
A torrid season for the Reds has seen the club captain endure a string of below-par performances. Most recently, Maguire's mistakes at the back at Manchester City ran out 4-1 winners in the derby saw the criticism mount.
Ralf Rangnick has backed his skipper, insisting he will not reassign the armband. However, the interim manager has seemingly made clear Maguire's spot is not secure by dropping him on occasion.
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Barnes, though, feels Maguire is in a no-lose situation. He told BonusCodeBets : "Criticism of Harry Maguire isn’t justified at all, and there’s nothing he can do to fix the perception of him either, it’ll have to be a team effort. Manchester United haven’t defended well as a team.
"They have left the back four and the two holding midfielders to do it all, but that isn’t the way to defend. Whereas, when you look at Manchester City, everyone helps out and defends.
"The United back four have been left vulnerable because the front four aren’t working hard enough to protect them. I don’t blame Harry Maguire individually.
"He can’t just go from being the best centre back in England to the worst. There is absolutely nothing he can do, apart from Manchester United as a team rectifying it together."
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