Harry Maguire’s comments have come back to bite him after the defender insisted Manchester United should be challenging for the Premier League title last year.
Maguire made the claim that United were improving after they managed to finish second only behind Manchester City in last season’s Premier League. They also narrowly missed out on their first piece of silverware after losing on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final.
Having come close, expectations at Old Trafford were high heading into the 2021/22 season, with hopes being raised further following a busy summer window in which Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo arrived. Those ambitions, though, were quickly extinguished after a dismal spell of form, which has continued through the season.
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Not only have United failed to mount a title challenge, or end their wait for a trophy, but they look set to miss out on the top four completely. With just seven games remaining, their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are slim — they sit six points off the pace.
United’s failures this season will no doubt play on the minds of a number of players — and none perhaps more so than Maguire. The skipper has endured a disappointing season at the heart of the Reds’ defence, with questions raised over his captaincy and his place in the side.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap last summer, Maguire confidently claimed United were on the up and should be looking to challenge for the title. "I think we are improving. From last season to this season we are definitely improving,” Maguire said.
"We've actually been on a good run ourselves and I think the run Manchester City have been on has just been incredible. You have got to give them credit. They broke away with something like 20-odd games on the bounce.
"We dropped some silly points in silly games. We know we can do better in some games and be a bit more ruthless in others, and really have great belief in the bigger games that we can go and win that game. But the main thing is improvement.
“We've got to be winning Premier League titles. Second isn't good enough, and I'm sure the lads all agree on that."
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