Manchester United captain Harry Maguire feels his side have been too inconsistent this season and need to improve their mental strength if they are to get results on a more regular basis.
United had been on a good run before the coronavirus hiatus, unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions, and pushing hard for a Champions League spot, just three points and one place off the top four.
However, the Red Devils have won just 12 of their 29 league games this season, drawing nine and losing eight and have struggled to maintain a consistent level of performance over the season.
The former Leicester Hull man says this is largely down to Ole Gunner Soskjaer’s side being so youthful, with Maguire one of the senior players in the squad at 27-years-old.
The England defender believes improved concentration and mental toughness will see the impressive recent run of results continues.
‘As a Red, our toughest opponent, probably, is ourselves,’ Maguire said in a fans’ Q&A on the Manchester United website.
‘I would say that, at times this year, as a team, we have probably let ourselves down by being a bit too inconsistent. Not just for a full game but during games.
‘There have been times when we’ve been so good in games and then we’ve come off it a bit and been punished. So I’d say our toughest opponent is ourselves.
‘We need to be mentally strong. We are a young group but we don’t really want to use that as an excuse. We want to be young but play mature. That is where we have really picked up in recent weeks.’
Maguire recognises that United are a work in progress under Solskjaer but feels that improvements are clear to see and the team are getting closer to challenging for silverware, not just Champions League places.
‘I think you can see from the start of the season we look a lot more like a team, we can probably see where we want to go, where we want to head,’ Maguire told Sky Sports.
‘Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of aspects we need to improve to get to the top of where we want to be. We don’t want to be challenging for this Champions League spot, we want to be challenging for titles.’
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