Paul Ince insists Harry Maguire would be a better player if he had more protection from his Manchester United team-mates in midfield.
The England international has come in for criticism this season with his performances well below par as United have struggled to keep clean sheets.
But former Red Devil Ince feels he needs more help from the players in front of him to avoid leaving him exposed in the heart of United’s defence.
‘The thing with Harry Maguire is he is not the quickest,’ Ince told the Daily Mail.
‘He’s not a bad player, everyone loses form and regains form. Harry Maguire is going through a period now where everything he does he is making mistakes and it is getting magnified.
‘For me, it’s not just Harry Maguire, it’s the midfield. He gets absolutely no protection. If I am playing in midfield with Roy Keane, Harry Maguire does not get isolated like he does at Man United.
‘The last thing you want is have someone like [Armando] Broja who is strong and quick against Harry Maguire, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got midfield players around Harry Maguire to protect him and help him out.
‘The amount of times where Steve Bruce wasn’t the quickest but I’d come across or Keane or Gary Pallister, because we knew.
‘For so many teams it is so easy to get through United, and that’s why we are seeing Maguire getting punished so much because he has no protection whatsoever.’
Despite criticism from fans and pundits, Maguire received a public vote of confidence from manager Ralf Rangnick in the lead up to Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton.
‘I think he had an outstanding game against West Ham, like all the rest of our back line,’ Rangnick said.
‘Against Middlesbrough…
Source : metro
