The Red Devils defender made headlines for all of the wrong reasons during the summer of 2020, but Gareth Southgate has always stuck by him
Harry Maguire says he “never feared for my international career” during a testing time on and off the field in the summer of 2020 that saw questions asked of him at Manchester United and with England.
The Red Devils defender was arrested during a break in Mykonos last August, before then being sent off during an outing for the Three Lions against Denmark in October.
High-profile misdemeanours led to calls for him to be dropped at club level and dumped by his country, but the 28-year-old defender has retained the full backing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Gareth Southgate.
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What has been said?
On his role in England’s plans, with a spot in Euro 2020 earned after returning to form and fitness, Maguire told reporters: “I never feared for my international career. Without getting into too much detail of what went off last summer, I knew where I stood in regards to that.
“I always knew what went off. I’m totally over it. It was a tough time, for sure, but I’ve moved on.
“Gareth’s support of me has been brilliant since I made my debut for England. Ever since, when I’ve been available, I’ve pretty much played in every game possible. That gives me great confidence, belief and trust.
“Every time I step onto the pitch I’m trying to repay the faith and the trust.
“I’ve had lots of conversations, lots of texts, lots of phone calls from Gareth. And then speaking to him when I’ve come into camp he’s always there to help.
“It’s impossible to go through a career without having bad moments and making mistakes. Gareth passes on his experiences and the way he handles things and I’m always open to learning and improving.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Gareth and what he has done for me personally and the trust and faith he has put in me.”
Making amends
England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Denmark in the contest that saw Maguire dismissed, but individual and collective wrongs can be put right on Wednesday when the two nations meet again in the last four of Euro 2020.
Maguire added on his last outing against the Danes and how he responded to that setback: “It was a challenging time but I am proud of the way I handled it and came through it.
“But four days before that game we had just beaten the number one ranked team in the world, Belgium, and I played 90 minutes and had a big part to play in that game.
“My touch was perhaps a bit off (against Denmark) – it was definitely off for the second booking I got. When I was walking off the pitch, of course I felt low. I felt like I was letting my team down.
“But mistakes happen and you bounce back and I am proud of the way I have handled myself from then on.
“It was important that I came back strong and performed well for Manchester United. I ended up scoring in a victory against Newcastle in our next match.”
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