MY ACCOUNT
Ralf Rangnick is confident Harry Maguire will not face abuse from Manchester United fans after he was jeered while on international duty with England.
Maguire’s name was booed ahead of England’s 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, a reaction that was widely criticised by Gareth Southgate and his Three Lions players.
Southgate described the response at Wembley as “an absolute joke”, while Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish and Declan Rice all came out in defence of Maguire.
Given the centre-back has played a key role in England’s runs to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Euro 2020 final, the vocal criticism appeared to relate more to his club form.
Maguire, who is the United captain, has come under scrutiny in a tough season at Old Trafford.
However, interim United manager Rangnick does not expect he will experience a similar reaction from his home fans at club level.
Asked if he had yet spoken to Maguire about the incident, Rangnick replied: “Not yet, but I speak regularly since I’m here, so he knows my position towards him.
“He’s been a very valuable player for the team and the club, the captain.
“I didn’t understand what happened at Wembley, it won’t happen in our stadium with the Red Army behind the team and our captain. He’s been playing well for Manchester United and England in the last couple of years.
“Gareth Southgate said something after the game and Harry Kane. I didn’t watch the game, but I heard what had happened after they announced the starting line-up. It’s difficult to understand.
“I don’t speak to them in person, but I’m pretty sure it won’t happen in our stadium. For it to happen in an international game is pretty unusual.”
Rangnick was then asked if he could explain why Maguire in particular received such criticism for his United displays.
“I don’t think this is a personal thing,” he responded. “It hasn’t anything to do with Harry himself.
“We know there are one or two players who have been criticised in the last few months. For example, Fred, a very important player for this team, playing regularly for the team and Brazil. I watched his game and he did well.
“Maybe it’s still got to do with the high expectations around this club and maybe people tend to compare with former players and legends.
“Fred, we can also speak about Scotty [McTominay] and Harry, they are important players and players with the right attitude.”
While Rangnick reserved plenty of time ahead of Saturday’s game against Leicester City to discuss how Maguire and Fred fared during the international break, he was less interested by a Paul Pogba interview during his time with France in which he described this as another “dead” season at United.
“I’ve got enough to do now to prepare the team for the next game,” Rangnick said. “Tomorrow’s game is another important one, and I don’t think it makes sense to interpret or just judge what he has maybe said in an interview, it doesn’t make sense.
“That’s something you can do if you want. For me, it’s only important to judge him.”
