Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire has admitted that he and fellow footballers do suffer emotionally when not performing at their best levels.
The centre-back, who has been included in Gareth Southgate's 26-man England squad for the World Cup in Qatar, has faced regular criticism from United supporters since the start of last season. He has been constantly picked out as the scapegoat for the club's recent struggles, with some comments directed at him being more than a stretch too far.
While there is no denying that Maguire has lost his way since playing a key role in helping England reach the final of the European Championship in July last year, he has had to withstand a barrage of unnecessary and frankly disgusting abuse, at times. And the defender has now admitted that he suffers, as do fellow players, when things are not going the way that he would like them to.
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"I think people see footballers as robots who don't have emotions, but of course we have emotions," Maguire told The Times. "We're disappointed and we're hurt when we don't play well.
"I don't really like feeling sorry for myself. You think about past games. 'If only…' There's a lot of 'If only…' in what you feel as a footballer. 'If only you'd got on the end of one in the Euros final you'd be a European champion'."
Although Maguire has not played as frequently as he would have liked so far this season, losing his place in the team to summer signing Lisandro Martinez, he was, certainly last season, scapegoated as the reason behind every United defeat. However, the England ace has pointed out that it is a collective effort, both when winning games and losing games.
"It's a team performance game," the United defender continued. "So if you lose games, individuals get portrayed as being in bad form.
"And for sure, individuals might not be performing as well as they can do, but the more you get spoken about, the more people talk about you."
Football supporters, however, are more than entitled to share their opinions on any matter - and always will do. That is something Maguire recognises.
He added: "Football is a game of opinions. You could do an action and someone could say, 'Well done,' and another person could say, 'It’s your fault.'
"Or you could concede a goal and one person could blame one centre-half and another person could blame another centre-half."
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