‘My win percentage is ridiculously high’ – Harry Maguire sends warning to Man Utd over reduced role
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire has admitted his frustration towards his limited minutes this season, insisting he will not sit around on the bench forever.
Having lost the captain’s armband this summer after a season in which he fell down the pecking order, Maguire has featured just four times in all competitions this season, with just five Premier League starts to his name in 2023.
Questions over his place in the England squad have been raised due to his limited minutes, with manager Gareth Southgate conceding he will not be able to select Maguire for much longer if he is not playing regularly.
Ahead of the Three Lions’ friendly against Australia on Friday, Maguire warned United he will not allow his career to fizzle away on the bench.
“I’m not going to sit here all my life and play once every month and if it carries on then I’m sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things,” he said.
The defender continued: “I have belief in my ability and what I have done in my career as every player should. Every player who is on the bench should believe they should be starting, otherwise they wouldn’t be playing at a high level. I am no different.
“Listen, it’s been tough. I want to play games. I want to feel important to the club and I want to feel important to the rest of the team.
“At the moment I haven’t been playing anywhere near as much as I’d like. It’s the bottom line of it. I’ve just got to make sure I am ready to take the opportunities when they come along.”
Maguire has struggled for minutes under Ten Hag / Matthew Ashton – AMA/GettyImages
While some have argued that Maguire’s performances on the pitch have not merited greater involvement with United, the 30-year-old hit back with claims that the results with him on the pitch speak for themselves.
Indeed, since losing the first two Premier League games of the Erik ten Hag era, Maguire has won each of the seven league matches he has started under the Dutch boss, five of which have ended with a clean sheet.
Of his 18 starts in all competitions, Maguire has 14 wins to his name, with the 3-0 loss to Sevilla the only blemish to his otherwise-perfect record since September 2022.
“Listen, if you look back on my last 15 to 20 starts for club and country, I would be happy to sit here and say ‘I’m really happy with my performances’,” he said.
“My record under this manager speaks for itself. I haven’t started as many games as I’d like, but my win percentage when I’ve played is ridiculously high.
“And of course, there’s times when I can do more and times when I can improve and help the team, but, yeah, I’m just wanting to help the team.
“I’m wanting to help the team get out of this position that we’re in at the moment and hopefully we can do that in the coming weeks.”
Source: 90mins
