02 December 2023 , 23:55
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Harry Maguire has leapt to the defence of Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford after he came under fire for his performance against Newcastle.
The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 by a dominant Magpies side who ensured that Erik ten Hag's team were second-best for the overwhelming majority of the tie. Anthony Gordon's 55th minute strike was enough to separate the two, but United can consider themselves fortunate they weren't on the end of a more severe defeat.
Amid the plethora of poor performances from those in the red of United, Rashford came in some criticism from TNT pundit Jermaine Jenas. The England international saw his effort levels questioned and accused of trying to send a message to his manager over his preferred position.
Maguire made sure to quash such talk at full-time, claiming: "Marcus had an unbelievable season last season. This season, it hasn't clicked for him. He's working hard. Everyone in that dressing room knows what he's about."
Reflecting on the performance from the entire team, Maguire added: "It's been a tough week with three away days in six days. To be fair, in the first half, we looked like we'd played our third away day in six days.
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"The tempo wasn't there, the intensity wasn't there. They were a lot better than us. We grew into the game, but we didn't have enough in the end."
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Marcus Rashford was criticised by Jermaine Jenas after defeat at Newcastle (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)It is fair to say Jenas didn't see it that way, with the former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder addressing the body language of United's players and cast doubt over the state of relations with Ten Hag. He told TNT: "I personally thought that tonight, there were signs that, there were a couple of players who weren’t happy with the tactics or their positions on the pitch, but the body language of the team tells you a lot… and there was a few who were sending a message to the manager, I thought.
“Marcus Rashford in particular, on the right, the way that he just walked around, you know throwing his arms around. For me that said ‘look, I don’t want to be playing on this right-hand side. No tracking back. You had Martial getting ran past by Fabian Schar, going into midfield, doing what he wants.
“There were too many of those moments. He seems a disciplinarian off the pitch Erik ten Hag, but I didn’t see that same level of respect from the players on the pitch today, and that’s a big concern.”