Despite the criticism of Harry Maguire, Manchester United legend, Gary Pallister believes that the centre-back still has a future at Old Trafford.
In an honest discussion with MrCasinova.com, the 57-year-old praised the towering defender for his performances in Qatar.
Pallister said: “You’ve got Harry Maguire, who has had a terrific World Cup. He’s shown people out there that he’s still a damn-good player, which is going to be great for United. I think he has taken some undue stick over a long period of time, and it’s easy to forget the seasons where he has been terrific for Manchester United. But it seems everyone has wanted to get on his back. I’m really pleased for Harry at the World Cup. He retained his place as he has never let England down and had a really good World Cup.”
Gary Pallister reveals one of the toughest spells of his career
Similarly to Maguire, the 57-year-old United legend also received a huge amount of critique from the fans. This ultimately resulted in an intriguing chat with the gaffer.
He remembered: “Not long after I got to United, I was getting a lot of stick. I went to see the manager as Sir Alex asked me to come and see him. He said, ‘I’m thinking of leaving you out for a game or so,’ and I said, ‘no, that’s not how I see myself going forward’.
“It’s just how I felt. Whilst it was always quite scary going in to see Fergie back in the day, that’s how I felt about it, and I didn’t want to be out of the firing line. I still felt as if I could achieve and do what I wanted, and that was the sort of public opinion that Harry is getting now – that you’re a flop, you’re a £2.3 million signing, the most expensive signing in British football and it’s not going great.”
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Gary Pallister overcame adversity, and he believes Harry Maguire can do the same
Sir Alex respected his player’s attitude and gave him an opportunity to turn things around, which he ultimately did.
Pallister recalled: “I stayed in the team, and he said he was pleased that I wasn’t looking for a way out or a way to hide. Maybe him asking the question was just him seeing whether I had the balls to go out there and put myself in the firing line when I was getting that stick, which was quite boisterous at the time in the early part of my career at United. But everything turned around that season. We won the FA Cup, and I won the player of the year from the United fans.
“It’s weird because people looked at that part of my career and say it took you a season to settle in. But maybe it took me a couple of months where I was trying to come to terms with the magnitude of where I was playing and probably wasn’t playing my best. But by the end of the season, I had turned it around.
“It’s a bit different or Harry as it’s been a bit of time. But as I say, I think he’s done really well. I look at Maguire and think he didn’t get much of a rest after The Euros, came straight back and got injured. I think we look as though we rushed him back to get him back into the team, and that’s when he started having these moments in games, and when that happens, it becomes the focus of everyone’s attention, and people start looking for any small thing that he has done wrong.”
Gary Pallister claims that Harry Maguire is ready to get back to his best
He concluded that Maguire is ready to return to his best.
Pallister added: “Yeah, of course he is (ready to slot back into the team). But Varane and Martinez have the shirts at the moment. However, Maguire will get opportunities.
“When I was at United, we were always bringing centre-backs in. So that will always ask the question of you, so that’s just the way it is there.”
Featured Image Credit: Harry Maguire
