Maguire admits he is eager to regain his first-choice status at Man United
Harry Maguire has admitted that he ‘wants to start more games’ and is eager to regain his first-choice status at Manchester United.
The Red Devils sealed their place in the last eight with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Real Betis in Seville in the Europa League.
Maguire played his part, captaining the team to a clean sheet in just his sixth start since the turn of the year, but made it clear he is still hoping for more.
‘I work hard at the training ground and that’s all that you can do,’ he told BT Sport after the match.
‘You can work hard in training, I put everything into training. We have good coaches at this club and they put on really good sessions for us the day after games.’
Maguire continued: ‘Listen, it’s not been too long since my last game, I think it is a couple of weeks ago, I have started five, six, seven since the World Cup.
‘Obviously, I want to play more, I want to start more games, but I’m playing my part on and off the field.
‘It’s nice to be out there leading the team and getting the victory, which is the most important part for myself and the club.
‘I’ve got an important role on and off the field at this club and every day I try to make this club succeed, whether I’m playing or not.’
United manager Erik ten Hag was content with the way his side closed out the tie, having done most of the heavy lifting in the first game at Old Trafford.
‘I’m happy, but we like challenges. We knew before that Betis was a really good team, we have seen that against Real Madrid and Barcelona, but we’ve beaten them twice so we’ve performed well,’ he said.
‘The second half we were much better on the ball, more calm. We kept the ball in the opposition half, let them run, and then you create chances.’
He also praised Facundo Pellistri, making his full debut after a handful of cameos from the bench.
‘We not only have 11, we have a squad. For Facundo, it is great to come in,’ he said.
‘He has had good moments, good performances in training, but a game is different. You saw after some minutes he got some belief and had some good actions. I was really pleased with his performance.’
