Harry Maguire praises himself and Scott McTominay for showing fight to get back into the team – Man United News And Transfer News

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Harry Maguire has praised both himself and Scott McTominay for fighting their way back into the fold at Manchester United this season.

The recent winner of the Premier League’s Player of the Month for November, was speaking to Alex Scott on the BBC’s Football Focus show about his recent award and form.

The England international began the interview by claiming that winning the award “was amazing” and “to get back into the team and win three games, keep three clean sheets, I am really pleased for myself and the team”. The much-maligned defender also claimed to be in a “really good place mentally and physically”.

The former United captain also drew parallels between his situation and that of Scott McTominay. When asked by the interviewer if he could see similarities between himself and the Scottish international he claimed, “yeah, a little bit, we were both not playing regular, myself and Scott, we got our heads down, trained well and kept ourselves fit”.

The Englishman also mentioned that because of the sheer number of games a club like Man United need to play, “you know opportunities will come and we are both taking them at the moment”. In a weird turn of events, Maguire and McTominay have been two of the club’s most consistent performers this term. This can be seen by the defender’s recent award and game time and the Scottish international’s goalscoring exploits for club and country.

The Three Lions mainstay also gave his take on the criticism and poor form of the team so far this season. Maguire asserted, “we know we should be doing a little bit better in the Premier League and we are striving for more. We know this club brings a lot of noise on the outside, especially when things are not going well”.

The United number five also touched on the heavy criticism that the player has faced over the last two or three years. He claimed, “I try not to read as much as I can. It is hard to get away from it sometimes. I have an amazing family and great friends, I try not to listen to it. It probably affected them more than it affected me to be honest. You got to be mentally strong to play here”.

The man from Sheffield also briefly discussed his failed summer move. Without mentioning West Ham, the centre back said, “the manager couldn’t guarantee more games at the start of the season. He was very happy for me to stay and fight for my place. At the end of it, I chose that option”.

A decision which he probably feels is vindicated having won the player of the month prize and also played 16 games so far this season. For context, he only played 31 in all competitions last season with many more appearances coming from the bench in the 2022/23 campaign.

The centre back also praised his national team manager for keeping the faith in him. Speaking of Gareth Southgate, he asserted, “really important and he has shown great trust in me. You look to lean on people who have always shown faith and trust and Gareth’s been one of them and he’s always made me believe I deserve to be playing at the top level”.

The Englishman finished the interview by discussing the future of the Mancunian side. Maguire bemoaned the team’s lack of luck in the Champions League and despite not performing as they should have, the squad is determined to “make the step” to be where they need to be at the end of the season.

The crucial week Maguire mentioned already began in horrific fashion, with the team being humiliated 3-0 by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday. All we can do is wait and hope to see if the tide turns again versus Bayern Munich and Liverpool in the coming few days.