Harry Maguire and fans’ jeers are now synonymous. As the Manchester United defender continues to put up one shambolic show after another, he is feeling the heat. But he claims that he can handle any criticism. But more importantly, he is determined to regain his spot at Manchester United. When the England defender came on as a halftime substitute in Tuesday’s 3-1 friendly victory in Glasgow, Scotland supporters kept taunting him. After his own goal in the 67th minute, he faced England fans’ wrath.
For the 59-cap veteran, who has a very thick skin, the jeers are nothing new.
Gareth Southgate, the manager of the Three Lions, called criticism of Maguire “ridiculous” and “a joke.” Erik ten Hag, though, continues to keep him off the United lineup, and he has only made one brief cameo as a substitute, in the 3-1 loss at Arsenal.
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Maguire talks about the jeers
Harry Maguire said, “We knew it would be hostile against the Scots and in the second half I got most of it. I am happy to go with that, don’t worry. They piled pressure on myself. I wouldn’t say I’m used to it but I can deal with it.”
He continued, “I would not say I am a person who struggles with pressure mentally. I have been through a lot in the last couple of years and I was Manchester United captain for nearly four years. It was a huge honour and you take a lot of responsibility and everything that comes with it — and that is a lot of bad as well as good.“
When Harry Maguire was asked about the endless baiting he is getting from opposing fans, he smiled. Harry said, “Well, it pretty much takes the pressure away from my teammates and puts it all on myself. It makes them play better, for sure. It is a little bit of banter and it is a hostile environment, coming away to Scotland.“
Harry Maguire on Manchester United
The centre defender, who lost the captaincy to Bruno Fernandes, was planning to leave for West Ham in the summer. But a disagreement over money prevented him from leaving. The 30-year-old said when asked how he ended up remaining at Old Trafford said, “We just didn’t come to an agreement. They were happy for me to stay and I was happy to fight for my place.“
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Harry Maguire continued, “I want to do that — and every time I train or play, I will give everything. I want to play games, I want to play football. The first four weeks were hard because it was one game a week and the manager didn’t select me. But we have lots of games coming up now and I am sure I will play lots of games.“
On September 3, with the score tied at 1-1, Harry Maguire took Lisandro Martinez’s place for the last 23 minutes of United’s journey to the Emirates. Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus scored goals for Arsenal in stoppage time to secure the win.
Martinez, 25, limped off with a foot injury yet travelled to Argentina for international duty. The centre-back was not included in the squad for the World Cup winners against Ecuador or Bolivia, so his availability for Premier League clash at home to Brighton on Saturday is in the balance.
