Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, has acknowledged that he owes “an apology” to Harry Maguire in light of the center back’s recent resurgence.
The English international has been gradually improving his form in a Red Devils’ shirt, showcasing impressive performances in recent matches.
Maguire’s strong performance against Brentford was followed by an even more remarkable display against Copenhagen.
He played a pivotal role by scoring the winning goal, which revived United’s hopes in the race to reach the Champions League last-16, following two consecutive defeats against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
Tim Sherwood commended Maguire for his resilience and determination to remain at United, even though it was apparent that he wasn’t initially in Ten Hag’s plans.
Sherwood now believes that the Dutch manager should extend an apology to the defender for initially excluding him from his plans.
“Maguire was getting shoved out the door and you could see that the manager was trying to edge him out but he didn’t want to leave. He probably looked around the dressing room, saw how flaky the other players in his position were and decided that he’d eventually get some minutes,” he told William Hill and Footy Accumulators’ podcast, No Tippy Tappy Football.
“As a manager, when you have a player like Maguire who wants to give everything for the cause and leave nothing on the pitch, you can deal with that. The problem is when people go hiding and they don’t want to leave the treatment room because they want to be at 110% for every game they play, but that is never going to happen. I think he will play a lot more now, and I think Erik ten Hag owes him an apology,” he added.
The Old Trafford faithful was heard singing “his head’s f* massiiive, 1, 2, 3, 4”, a song Leicester fans affectionately penned for Maguire after he emerged as their hero on a Champions League night.
“Sherwood believes that the chorus will only grow stronger and louder as the defender will get more minutes in the upcoming matches in the absence of first-choice centre-back Lisandro Martinez.
“I think he’ll play a lot more football now because he’s made the manager realise it’s not all about superstars. Sometimes you need character, heart and personality to play at Old Trafford, and he has all of those. He might not be the greatest, but he’s certainly not the worst,” he said.
“The fans appreciate and recognise that he wants to be back in action for United. You can always turn things around by showing heart and playing for the badge, and that is exactly what he has shown. All of a sudden, he can turn the fans around and if you do turn them around they’ll never forget that,” he added.
Maguire will hope to get a start when United host Manchester City in the derby on Sunday at Old Trafford.