Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Football Reporting
Football Reporting

Europa League

Steve McClaren offers insight into Man Utd captaincy as Harry Maguire left waiting


McClaren is preparing to return to Manchester United as an assistant manager after more than two decades away from the club and has shed light on the expectations of the captain

Steve McClaren will return to Manchester United as an assistant coach once again to Erik ten Hag and has opened up on the leadership group the new coaching staff at Old Trafford are looking to forge.

The former England manager’s exact quote coined the term “cultural architect” – a phrase he may have first been introduced to while he was part of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Three Lions backroom staff in 2002. Eriksson consulted a a Norwegian sports psychologist by the name of Willi Railo before the World Cup later that year.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

McClaren’s appointment ahead of next season marks his return to Old Trafford 21 years after he first left the club. He has discussed how Ten Hag may assess the situation surrounding the club captaincy given there has been intense speculation suggesting current skipper Harry Maguire could be stripped of the armband.

As captain, Maguire oversaw United’s worst ever season of the Premier League era as the Red Devils finished sixth and scraped Europa League qualification on the final day due to other results going their way. He came in for serious criticism throughout the campaign.

Towards the tail-end of the abysmal nine month effort, Maguire was actually dropped from the team and taken out of the firing line by interim boss Ralf Rangnick for the final few games of the season.

McClaren has kept his cards close to his chest as to whether Maguire will keep the armband and instead simply discussed the collective effort required for efficient leadership. “Going into Manchester United, straightaway in my mind is who are the cultural architects?” he said on the McClaren Performance podcast.

Harry Maguire endured a poor season last term
(

Image:

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Getty Images)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Harry Maguire remain captain of United next season? Comment below

“Who can you build this team around? There’s not one leader, there’s not one captain, there are a few lieutenants and they’re all connectors and connected to each other. Some through their status, some through their talent and some through their attitude to make each other better.

“But it’s up to everybody – if they are a cultural architect – to make others better.” McClaren clearly wants to help Ten Hag create the kind of harmony from within the United dressing room that was so clearly absent last term.

Instead of making each other better, there were relentless reports of in-fighting from within the United camp – many of which were allegedly leaked to the media by a mole from within the squad.

There have even been murmurings that the United squad will hold a vote before a ball is kicked next term to determine who the most popular candidate is to enjoy the status of club captain – with Cristiano Ronaldo thought to be a favoured alternative among the group.

Read More

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Read More





Source link

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Premier League

Long-serving Premier League official Jon Moss had moved into a role with the referees’ body in 2023, but has lasted less than a year...

AC Milan

AC Milan are destined to sign a striker in the upcoming summer mercato, and a report has claimed that they are the favourites to...

Premier League

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is currently serving a 10-month ban over breaches of rules regarding betting on matches in Italy before his £55million move...

Premier League

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 12: Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Aston...