01 March 2024 , 14:15
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Roy Keane has claimed Harry Maguire's teammates at Manchester United are "frightened to death" because of the defender's lack of pace.
The England defender, 30, looked to be on his way out of Old Trafford after being stripped of the club captaincy by Erik ten Hag in the summer. But Maguire has responded admirably and been one of the club's most consistent players this term.
Unfortunately, Maguire's personal performances have not been enough to inspire United, who have underwhelmed this season. Ten Hag is under pressure ahead of Sunday's crucial Manchester derby with United eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race for Champions League qualification.
Ten Hag took umbrage with comments made by Jamie Carragher earlier this week when the former Liverpool man pointed out the Dutchman's game plan, which involves pressing teams high while holding a deep defensive line, is "impossible" to implement. Keane has now waded into the debate and pinpointed how Maguire's attributes are an issue for the way Ten Hag wants to press.
Speaking on the Stick to Football Podcast, Keane noted: "They aren’t pressing up. I don’t want to be just pinning it on [Harry] Maguire, but there’s always that worry with Maguire coming up and squeezing the pitch like all the other top teams are doing.
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"There’s that worry with him all the time – that’s where there are gaps. They are frightened to death to come all the way up because they’re thinking, ‘Anything over the top, he’d be in trouble'."
Keane then went on to outline that Maguire is far from the only player who is having a detrimental impact on Ten Hag's game plan. He feels that the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are simply not suitable to lead a high press.
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Maguire has been one of Manchester United's most consistent performers this season (Visionhaus/Getty Images)He continued: "Manchester United haven’t got the players to [press]. Fernandes is not going to do it. Rashford won’t do it. They might do it for five or ten minutes, so if you’ve got a team that’s not going to press – we’re talking about leopards and spots. Man United are never really going to be good at that pressing side of it."
Ten Hag, who defended his tactics follow Carragher's comments, insisted that United had nothing to fear in the derby. He said: "We are also in a good run. This period is very good, we are united. We are in togetherness and [we will] make a good game plan. We have done it before against City and also, lately, against Liverpool, so we will prepare well.
"The players are ready for it and looking forward to it. I can smell it. I am around here and speak with the players, so we are really enjoying [it] and looking forward and excited."
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