"There’s that worry with him all the time" - Roy Keane believes one Manchester United player is holding back his team in key aspect
Roy Keane has claimed that Manchester United are suffering on the pitch because of Harry Maguire. He believes that if the defender presses up and leaves a big gap at the back, it would make the defense vulnerable.
Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast, Keane claimed that the team was not pressing together because they did not have the players for it. He added that Maguire does it at the back, but that leaves a gap for the opponents to exploit with a ball over the top. He said:
"They aren't pressing up. I don't want to be just pinning it on [Harry] Maguire, but there's always that worry with Maguire coming up and squeezing the pitch, like all the other top teams are doing.
"There's that worry with him all the time – that's where there is gaps. They are frightened to death to come all the way up because they're thinking 'anything over the top, he'd be in trouble."
He added:
"Manchester United haven't got the players to [press]. [Bruno] Fernandes is not going to do it. Rashford won't do it. They might do it for five or ten minutes, so if you've got a team that's not going to press – we're talking about leopards and spots. Man United are never really going to be good at that pressing side of it."
Harry Maguire has played just 23 games this season, a total of 1646 minutes in all competitions, having missed a few games due to injury. He was stripped of the captaincy at the start of the season and a move to West Ham United fell through.
Jamie Carragher on Manchester United's pressing
Jamie Carragher was also on the Stick To Football podcast and claimed that Manchester United were trying different things on the pitch. He believes that the attackers press high with the midfielders also joining them.
However, the defense sits back way too much and leaves a gap in the middle. He wants them to either press high or sit back and said:
"Teams now press from the front, press high and everyone is on the halfway line. Man United are trying to do two different things; the front six were going man-to-man pressing [against Fulham], and the back four were miles behind them. You're either one or the other."
Manchester United are sixth in the Premier League table despite losing 10 matches this season. They next face Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday, March 3.
Meanwhile, they face Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 16 after beating Nottingham Forest in the fifth round this week.