Harry Maguire believes Manchester United’s problems are not tactical and says players are ‘not mentally focused’.
United boss Ruben Amorim branded his team “perhaps the worst in the club’s history” following the weekend’s defeat to Brighton.
The Portuguese made it clear today that he was referring to his own efforts since replacing Erik ten Hag in November.rather than criticizing the players, but experienced defender Maguire insisted they should take their share of responsibility.
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United have fallen behind in each of their last five league matches and conceded the opening goal within five minutes on three occasions.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League match against Rangers at Old Trafford, Maguire said: “If I could explain it we would change it straight away.
“We have players who have won many trophies in club football, but we don’t play well enough as a team.
“We gave Brighton a goal. We talked about it before the match. The first goal against Nottingham Forest was from a set play – and against Bournemouth.
“These are not things that pose a tactical problem. You have to be mentally ready to win a match. At the moment we are not getting small margins because we are not mentally focused.
Rangers will be a tough test – Maguire
A win against Rangers would all but guarantee United a place in the last 16, but Maguire is not expecting an easy night against the men from north of the border.
He added: “We are expecting a tough game, we know they will come here and give everything they have and give great support.
“They have done extremely well in the competition so we are expecting a tough game, but we will focus on ourselves and ensure we perform well after a tough defeat this weekend.
“We will go into the match with the confidence that we can play and get all three points.”
