Harry Maguire has pointed to the fact that Manchester United have not lost since August when he has been in the side, and said “extras” in training have ensured he is ready whenever selected by Erik ten Hag.
Maguire lost his starting berth after the defeats against Brighton and Brentford in the opening two matches of the season but the 30-year-old defender was preferred ahead of Raphaël Varane for the 2-0 win against Everton on Saturday. The Frenchman has been Lisandro Martínez’s regular central defensive partner this campaign.
“I don’t want to speak about it too much because I don’t want to jinx it,” Maguire said when asked about United’s record with him in the team. “I haven’t lost since the second or third week of the season but this match was not about me, it was about the team. The team was really strong, it was an amazing performance, especially in the first half.”
Ten Hag praised Maguire for his “dominant” display against Everton, the manager adding that this showed an improvement from earlier in the campaign. The player described how he is keeping himself primed for any opportunity by doing extra work.
“It’s my job. That’s the bottom line of it, it is my job to be ready and to train as well as I can,” he said. “If you ask anyone in the dressing room how well I train, I train hard and competitively in everything I do whether it is a small-sided game or possession, and I always do extras. I’ve proven that because every time I’ve been given an opportunity for the club this year and for my country in the World Cup and qualifiers, I felt like I’ve been in a really good place and I’m performing really well.”
Last season United finished sixth in a slipshod campaign that ended with a caretaker manager, Ralf Rangnick, in charge. Maguire suggested he should not be singled out as being solely culpable for this.
“Last season was disappointing for everyone – there were numerous players [who underperformed] and we could speak about individuals, myself included,” he said. “The form wasn’t good. Everyone’s form wasn’t good and that comes together as a collective.”
