Erik ten Hag owes Harry Maguire an apology after Manchester United defender’s resurgence
Erik ten Hag should be apologising to Harry Maguire after the Manchester United defender spared his manager’s blushes in midweek. The England international appeared to be on the verge of leaving Old Trafford earlier in the summer amid interest from West Ham. Maguire, however, opted to stay and fight for his place despite suffering the ignominy of being stripped of the captaincy.
Injuries to first choice central defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have belatedly handed the 30-year-old a chance to regain his place and he has seized the opportunity with both hands. Maguire delivered a man of the match performance in last weekend’s narrow win over Sheffield United and followed up that display with the winning goal in Tuesday’s Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen.
Former England international Sherwood praises Maguire
Former England international Sherwood is delighted to see Maguire well on the road to having his reputation restored and believes his manager should be eating humble pie. He told William Hill: ‘I’ve got a lot of time for Harry Maguire. He was getting shoved out the door and you could see that the manager was trying to edge him out but he didn’t want to leave.
‘He probably looked around the dressing room, saw how flaky the other players in his position were and decided that he’d eventually get some minutes. I think he’ll play a lot more football now because he’s made the manager realise it’s not all about superstars. Sometimes you need character, heart and personality to play at Old Trafford, and he has all of those.
‘He might not be the greatest, but he’s certainly not the worst. As a manager, when you have a player like Maguire who wants to give everything for the cause and leave nothing on the pitch, you can deal with that. The problem is when people go hiding and they don’t want to leave the treatment room because they want to be at 110% for every game they play, but that is never going to happen. I think he will play a lot more now, and I think Erik ten Hag owes him an apology.’
Maguire’s resurgence a lesson for managers
Maguire’s resurgence is a lesson for managers everywhere that it pays to back your players and give them a chance to prove themselves. Ten Hag should be commended for giving Maguire the opportunity to prove himself, and his faith in the defender has been rewarded with some excellent performances. Maguire is now firmly established as one of Manchester United’s key players and is likely to remain so for some time.
It is also a lesson for players that hard work and determination can pay off. Maguire could easily have thrown in the towel after being stripped of the captaincy, but instead he knuckled down and worked hard to regain his place in the team. His performances have been exemplary and he deserves all the credit for fighting for his place.
Conclusion
Erik ten Hag owes Harry Maguire an apology after the Manchester United defender’s resurgence. Maguire was on the verge of leaving Old Trafford earlier in the summer, but opted to stay and fight for his place despite suffering the ignominy of being stripped of the captaincy. Injuries to first choice central defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have belatedly handed him a chance to regain his place and he has seized the opportunity with both hands.
Former England international Sherwood is delighted to see Maguire well on the road to having his reputation restored and believes his manager should be eating humble pie. Maguire’s resurgence is a lesson for managers everywhere that it pays to back your players and give them a chance to prove themselves, and a lesson for players that hard work and determination can pay off.