“Much better” – Ten Hag heaps praise on Harry Maguire after making major change to his game
Man United captain Harry Maguire may have lost his place in the Red Devils’ starting team this season but his manager, Erik ten Hag, was full of praise after his performance against West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday. The England international was restored to the Man United first 11 for the cup tie […]
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Man United captain Harry Maguire may have lost his place in the Red Devils’ starting team this season but his manager, Erik ten Hag, was full of praise after his performance against West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday.
The England international was restored to the Man United first 11 for the cup tie as he partnered Victor Lindelof in the defence. However, the 29-year-old played on the right side rather than the left – where he has played for both club and country in recent years.
The reason for this is that Ten Hag prefers a right-footed player on the right and a left-footed star on the left, and with Martinez being an undisputed starter on the left, the Dutch coach believes playing on the right will be more beneficial for Maguire going forward.
This is a major change for a centre-back as it affects many aspects of their game from defensive positioning to how they receive the ball and progress the ball, and it was clear that Ten Hag was very impressed with how the England international performed.
Erik ten Hag heaps praise on Man United captain Harry Maguire
“It is my way of playing, or our way, and it is better,” Ten Hag said after the match via the Metro.
“I prefer to have a player with a lot of initiative [at right centre-back] and when you are left-footed you have better angles [at left centre-back].
“Harry can play on the left but right is obviously much better and today we have seen that.
“How do we help him with that? In training we give him coaching, we give him instructions. But also not that long ago we showed him a video of how to outplay opponents and how he can have more impact in possession in building up because his skills…he is really high-skilled. For a centre-back, he has so many skills. He has to use that in a game.”
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