Defender Mark McGuinness returns to the Champ with Sheff United
Defender learns from Hatters heartache
MARK McGuinness insists he has nothing to prove after returning to the Championship with Sheffield United.
The 24-year-old centre-back became Luton’s record signing when he made a £7m switch from Cardiff last summer. The deal could have reached £10m with add-ons.
But he was powerless to prevent the Hatters suffering back-to-back relegations as they tumbled straight into League One.
Now he has been given another crack at the second tier after the Blades fought off competition from Ipswich to bag the Arsenal academy product on deadline day - and McGuinness says he does not feel compelled to justify last season’s hefty price tag.
“No, that doesn’t matter to me,” says the Londoner, who has joined the Blades on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
“I don’t control what people pay for me. I don’t see it as a measure of my worth. I just get my head down and crack on.
“Last season was frustrating. It’s not what anyone expected or anyone wanted. But that’s the Championship. It’s never easy. It’s never straightforward. Nobody has a crystal ball and can tell you what's going to happen.
“Even now, it’s hard to put your finger on what went wrong. There’s always excuses about a hangover from being in the Premier League, but that shouldn’t last all season.
“Ultimately, we just didn’t perform. We didn’t get to grips with the competitiveness of the Championship and with being in a dogfight and we paid the consequences.
“On a personal level it was hugely disappointing. I joined Luton because I thought
I could progress there and make that step up to where I want to be playing, which is the Premier League. To go down hurt.
“But I’m not one of these guys who feels
I have something to prove. I know what I can do. It’s more about learning from the mistakes we made and putting them right.”
Lessons
the Championship without a point to their name after a summer of upheaval.
New boss Ruben Selles has been furnished with 15 new players, and McGuinness is one of five senior central defenders to have arrived at Bramall Lane over the summer.
Japhet Tanganga, 26, was signed from Millwall for £7.5m, 20-year-old Swedish international Nils Zatterstrom plucked from Malmo for £2.85m and ex-Brentford veteran Ben Mee, 35, joined on a free transfer. Atalanta loanee Ben Godfrey, 27, has two caps for England, while hot prospect Tyler Bindon has arrived on loan from Nottingham Forest after a standout season for Reading earned the 20-year-old a £1m switch to the City Ground in February (and immediate loan back to the Royals). It’s an impressive roster, but one that could potentially take some time to forge an understanding.
“I don’t agree with that,” counters McGuinness. “A lot of that is about club culture, which is really good here. It’s also about the people. We’ve all played at a good level.
“There’s a good range of ages and experience. Everyone’s a good character. So in terms of actually getting to know each other and building those connections, it’s pretty easy. I think we can get going no problem.”
McGuinness, of course, was a hero of Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion to the Championship in 202223, playing 17 games before being recalled by Cardiff in mid-season. Did he worry about crossing the Steel City?
“Listen, I know that some people will be unhappy,” he admits. “And I understand that. But I had to put that out of my mind.
“I had to make a purely footballing decision, and that’s what this is. I’m at a point in my career where the things that I want and the things that Sheffield United want are perfectly aligned.”