The criticism of England’s Euro 2024 performances was “a bit ridiculous”, said Manchester United defender Harry Maguire.
Maguire played more than 60 times under manager Gareth Southgate but missed England’s run to a second consecutive European Championship final in Germany with a calf injury.
During the group stage of the tournament beer cups were thrown at Southgate and the team was jeered by some fans, with a string of below-par displays greeted with general disdain from some supporters, media, and pundits.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football,” Maguire told BBC Sport, speaking on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
“It is not as expansive. There are far fewer risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
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“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Southgate resigned two days after the tournament finished.
Maguire’s team-mate Tom Heaton, who was part of the England squad as a training goalkeeper, added: “I am not quite sure where the narrative changed. Throughout Gareth’s whole reign as manager, there has been a real positive outlook to it.
“From a players’ point of view from inside the camp, we managed to shut it out and create a siege mentality and proved people wrong.
“It was an incredible experience but I was a little bit surprised at the outlook from the start of the tournament.”
‘Tough’ to miss two career highlights – Maguire
Maguire picked up a calf injury in training at the beginning of May and could not recover in time for the FA Cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley four weeks later.
Another setback on England duty led to Southgate cutting him from the final 26-man Euro 2024 squad.
“To miss out was tough,” added Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country.”
The 31-year-old earned plenty of praise last season for refusing to quit United when he was stripped of the captaincy by manager Erik Ten Hag and at times dropped down to fifth-choice central defender, behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans.
Maguire made 31 appearances in all competitions, despite not starting a Premier League game until October.
United have spent £52m on 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro, but Maguire says he’s ready for a renewed challenge for his first-team position.
“There was a lot of uncertainty over my future last year but I sat down with the manager, he told me where I was at, said he believed in me and I would get chances,” said Maguire.
“I proved last season when I got the chances I took them really well.”
United’s FA Cup final victory changed perceptions around Ten Hag and probably saved his job.
But Maguire knows the eighth-placed Premier League finish was not good enough.
With Dan Ashworth now in place as sporting director and Omar Berrada the new chief executive, Maguire expects improvement but is realistic about how far United might go in the months that lie ahead.
“I don’t think we will go from finishing eighth in the league to winning all the trophies overnight,” he said.
“But I do think we are moving in the right direction now and the decisions that have been made at the top will help this club get back to where it should be.”
Sources: BBC Sport
