OUR LEADER
I’ve NEVER thought about taking the armband from him says Ole
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has backed Harry Maguire to return to form and says he has never considered taking the Manchester United captaincy from him.
The centre-back was criticised by former United skipper Roy Keane for the manner of his goal celebration for
England in their 5-0 World
Cup qualifier win over
Albania at Wembley.
Keane branded Maguire
“embarrassing” for cupping his hands to his ears after scoring, claiming the goal did not exonerate him from being a “disgrace” in recent weeks.
Some United fans have called for Maguire to be stripped of the captaincy, claiming the 28-year-old defender is not a true leader, with
Cristiano Ronaldo
(inset) and David
De Gea potential replacements.
But Solskjaer hit back at Maguire’s critics and said the centre-back, despite his current crisis of confidence, will keep the armband and hailed his impact on and off the pitch.
“For me, no, I’ve not considered taking the captain’s armband away from him,” said Solskjaer. “Harry’s been an absolute stalwart for us on and off the pitch since he came here.
“His family, his club, we’re all very happy with him and we back him. He’s such a top professional.
“He’s going to prove his critics wrong. The so-called ‘experts,’ they have their opinions and that’s their job, to give their opinions.
“But that’s not something we have to worry too much about. As an example of a United player, Harry is always there for his team and his country.”
Despite Maguire having been singled out for his part in United’s current crisis, Solskjaer said the blame needed to be shared by the entire squad, not one individual.
“As a team, we’ve not performed at the standard we know we can do and the levels we need to be at,” said the United chief ahead of today’s trip to Watford.
“Harry, as Gareth Southgate rightly said, is not one to hide on the treatment table or find any excuse to sit out games.
“He is a top professional who wants to be there for the manager every single time and he trains really well.
“This week, going away, scoring for his country, will help his form and his confidence.”
After United’s 2-0 defeat to City a fortnight ago, Solskjaer gave his players a week off
and returned to his native Norway himself, although he admitted he could not switch off.
“You can’t break off, you never do,” said Solskjaer. “We live and breathe football.
“You try to switch your phone off for a few hours at least and spend time with your family. But you watch your players on the international stage and go through them in detail. We have worked on a few priorities.
“The staff are incredible, they work 24/7 to improve the state of the team and when we came back on Monday everyone was ready to have a good week.”