Manchester United’s 32-year old centre-back player Harry Maguire has urged his team-mates to be mentally prepared to be “hated” and that they have to “thrive off the pressure”.
“There’s more scrutiny on Manchester United, just because more people in the country hate them. And that’s just a fact. Everyone in the Premier League dislikes Man United and they don’t want to see them do well. So there is more scrutiny on Manchester United, whereas England, everyone gets together. And England’s another story. What happens with England is when you get over 30, the fans start to think ‘get out’. They want to play these young guys who are coming through who have amazing highlights on Twitter and things,” Maguire said in Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
He urged this club teammates to start the new season with the motivation to feed off pressure. “Mental strength definitely has a big part to play. You’ve got to thrive off the pressure and you’ve got to play like you’re playing in a playground — and that’s what we’ve struggled to find over the last ten years. There has been a transition period, obviously. When Alex Ferguson was here, we had the best team by far and won all the trophies. But in the transition period at the moment, the reality is that we’re not the best team.”
He said that he has noted that many players are unable to handle the pressure of playing for the club and don’t last long. “I see a lot of players at Manchester United break through in one or two years. And then, after the second year, you start getting questioned and the form dips a little bit. It happens so much. It’s really important to have good support around you, good family around you. But obviously, some players come from different countries and don’t have that. So the main thing I always say is that you can only do what you can do. And on the football pitch, you get judged.”
Maguire cited the example of Bruno Fernandes as the model player on how to handle pressure and perform. “It’s how people and how the lads can adapt to that level of scrutiny and to keep going through that scrutiny. Bruno Fernandes is a perfect example. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks and he believes in his ability — and shows it on the pitch.”
The undue scrutiny and pressure is an inevitable part of playing for Manchester United, he says. “And when you play for this club, everything gets analysed. Every goal that goes in the back of the net is someone’s fault. You do become used to it. But for a young boy coming into it, when you’re a young boy, you have no fear. And then, once you make a couple of mistakes, after a couple of seasons, people then start expecting things from you. And then that is when the real test comes.”
Maguire believes that the Manchester United players weren’t fit enough last season.
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“And it’s really good that we’ve had a full pre- season to work under this manager [Ruben Amorim]. He spoke about it a lot last season that we just didn’t have a chance to train.
“When he first took over, I think the physicality of our squad wasn’t good enough for the Premier League. We couldn’t run hard enough. We didn’t win enough duels. He’s realised that now we have got a full pre-season and I think the lads are looking leaner and sharper. We now have good competition for places and I’m sure they’ll bring in a couple more. But it’s looking a lot brighter.”
