‘May the best man win’
Maguire on Kane clash
HARRY MAGUIRE admitted he is relishing his battle with England teammate Harry Kane when Manchester United meet Tottenham today.
United travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looking to banish the demons of their 6-1 humbling by Spurs at Old Trafford earlier in the season.
It was a day in October when everything went wrong for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side – from Anthony Martial’s first-half red card, to the defensive horror show that allowed Tottenham to run riot.
Maguire had an afternoon to forget, with Kane plundering two goals. And the United captain is desperate to get the better of Kane this time, as United look to take another big step towards Champions League qualification.
“It’s a great game to be involved in,” Maguire told United’s in-house media.
“We have more than enough to go there and get the three points. It’s two squads that you expect to be fighting at the top end of the table. We’ve got ourselves into a good position and they’re wanting to bridge that gap.
“I want to play in the biggest games possible against the best players; that’s why I joined this club. Harry [Kane] is one of those.
“I know him from England really well. He’s a top striker, one of the best in the world and he does it season after season, scores goals after goals.
“He’ll be ready for battle and I’ll be ready for battle. May the best man win.
“It’s not just individuals; it’s a team effort. As a defensive unit we’ve got to be strong, go there and get a clean sheet and give the team the best opportunity to win the game.”
Maguire also spoke about the need for United to show they have progressed since last season. Solskjaer’s men are on course for a second-place finish in the Premier League, although they need to win the Europa League to end a fouryear trophy drought.
“I think the improvement will be shown from this year to last year,” the 28-year-old added.
“That was the main aim: to improve on last year. We need to beat the points tally and if we finish above third [last year’s position] then obviously that’s even better.
“At this club, we want to be winning the Premier League, but we also know that we’ve got a lot of improvement to be made to enable that. That’s what we’re striving to do. We need to kick on for the remaining games.”