Captain Harry Maguire has vowed to continue to fight for his place at Manchester United after helping the Reds record their ninth Premier League clean sheet of the season in Sunday's 2-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road.
Maguire, who has been heavily linked with an exit from Old Trafford ahead of this coming summer's transfer window, made just his fifth league start of the season as he partnered Luke Shaw in the heart of the back-four. The England international was presented with a surprise opportunity after manager Erik ten Hag made the decision to rotate his backline, naming both Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane on the bench.
The former Leicester City man, who was making his first away start in the league since the 4-0 battering at Brentford back in August, did struggle on his return to the side, particularly in possession. His passing was littered with errors and he very nearly presented Jack Harrison with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the first half, only to recover well and clear away the danger.
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Though the spotlight has been shone brightly on Maguire this season, frequently resulting in him being criticised, the United skipper admitted that his main focus is on the team and them picking up positive results. He also recognised that he has fierce competition to earn his place in the side.
"Like I said, it is not about me, it's about the team and the club being successful," Maguire told Sky Sports. "Obviously I want to be a big part of it and I am still playing my part, coming on in games. I think I have started four since the World Cup, so I'm still getting my minutes.
"Of course, every footballer wants to start games and it is disappointing when you don't and all you can do is train well and make sure you are ready when the chance comes. There are lots of players in the squad aren't playing at the moment as well.
"We have, I feel, four really comfortable international centre-backs at this club and there are always going to be two who are unhappy. That is the way it is but I will keep fighting, keep working hard and make sure I am ready when I'm called upon."
On the victory, which was sealed as a result of late goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, Maguire added: "We knew coming to Elland Road it was going to be a tough place and there would be times where they had a little bit of momentum. It came very early on in both halves and we had to dig in in the second half as well, but we focused and knew that our quality would come through.
"We had to battle and fight for every ball, keep the ball out of our net and it is credit to the lads that we stuck with it. The spirit and fight that we showed... we know how important this victory is to our fans.
"Having not got it at Old Trafford in the week we were disappointed, so we knew today was about revenge and we got that."
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