“HARRY MAGUIRE: HOW WE’VE IMPROVED UNDER RALF”
Under Ralf Rangnick, Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes the club is improving defensively, but there is still work to be done moving forward.
Since the German took over as interim manager, the Reds have conceded seven goals in ten games while keeping four clean sheets.
It’s a significant increase over the previous season, which Maguire attributes to Ralf’s tactics and the team’s overall work ethic.
Now, following encouraging victories over Brentford and West Ham, Harry is focusing on improving our ball-handling and attacking threat.
“I think he’s introduced a lot of fresh principles into the club,” Harry said in an interview with United Review, the club’s official matchday programme. “But, without a doubt, we haven’t conceded as many goals or as many chances.”
“It’s a team effort; it’s not just a back-four or goalkeeping effort.” It’s a collaborative effort. The way they [the midfielders and forwards] work and cover areas in front of us makes our life a little simpler, but it’s a massive effort from all of us.
“However, I believe there is still a lot of room for improvement, particularly with the ball today.”
“We need to carry a little bit more of a threat with the ball and look after it a little bit better than we have in recent weeks,” he said.
United has only lost once under Rangnick, and the win over West Ham prior to the international break propelled us to fourth place in the Premier League, our highest position since October.
While overall performances may still be improved, Maguire recognises that the Reds are still strong in the Champions League and the Emirates FA Cup (we meet Middlesbrough in the fourth round on Friday night) and that there are opportunities to be taken.
“Yeah. Since the manager came in, I think the results have been quite excellent,” the captain added.
“We’ve had some mixed results, but we’ve kept together and managed to get some positive things out of the period.” However, it has now set us up.
“We’re in a critical part of the season where we need to keep putting on great performances week after week.” I always say that, and I’m a firm believer in it, that excellent performances lead to good outcomes.
“So we have to make sure we put in those solid efforts, and the results will follow.”
