No mixed feelings for Harry Maguire as he is 'proud' of Manchester United's League Cup win

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire did not start in the club’s League Cup final success against Newcastle United, but he came on at the end and was smiling in the celebrations and when he spoke to journalists after the match.

Asked if he had any mixed emotions, Maguire said: “No I don’t have any mixed emotions, it’s been so long since the club won a trophy, it’s a really good day for the club and the fans.

“I am club captain and my main job is to move this club forward and to bring success back to the club and today has been part of it.

“Obviously, listen, I am a footballer who wants to play games and I want to lead the boys out of the tunnel at the start of the game but I understand this is part and parcel of football when you play at the top level and you have got huge competition for places.

“It’s a real good day for the club and for me and a proud day for my family who were in the stands and saw me lift my first trophy for Manchester United.”

Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are currently Erik ten Hag’s preferred central pairing, but Maguire feels like his manager has been honest with him.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “He has been asked numerous times about my role in interviews and he tells me honestly, he believes in me but this is football.

“The lads who are playing and starting, Rapha is playing really well and we have seen his ideas, the manager, what he wants, and he does like a left-footed centre-back playing so no, it’s high competition for places. This is Manchester United.

“We want to win trophies – and big trophies – and to do that you need competition for places and the manager speaks to me daily and he really respects me and believes that I am a top centre-half with all the attributes to play in his team, but also he understands that the players who are playing – and I understand that the players who are playing – are playing very well.”

Maguire talked about the importance of United winning a first trophy since 2016. On Wednesday, they face West Ham United in the FA Cup as they seek to add a second trophy this season.

Man United 2 Newcastle 0 - player ratings

“Winning games breeds confidence and a good atmosphere among the fans and the club we are all pulling in the same direction, we all want the same thing,” he said. “We have got a good squad, good competition for places and the manager’s made a big impact on the style of play and in the demands he brings, it seems to be going in a good place.”

Maguire emphasises the excellent mood. “The lads get on really well, and are a tight bunch, good spirit, everyone contributing.

“The lads who aren’t playing, myself included, are working hard and pushing those who are playing to perform well and they are. That is what a big club’s about. What is being built here is why we are in all four competitions.”

Maguire agrees that United have looked like a team close to a return to greatness several times in the last decade since Sir Alex Ferguson departed.

“When I first came to this club it felt like we had turned a corner, then we had a bad season and things changed again so I think if you spoke to the manager he would tell you he has great confidence in his tools and his work and the squad he is building in terms of the players and staff. They are behind him. The belief in the squad, the players, the staff is the reason why we are moving forward.”

United have won the League Cup but are still in the FA Cup, where West Ham visit Old Trafford on Wednesday. Victory over Barcelona last week ensured a passage to the last 16 of the Europa League, while Ten Hag’s team are third in the Premier League.

Maguire thinks the World Cup marked a turning point. “Before the World Cup we had great fight and spirit and we didn’t really put in the actions that the manager wanted, but since the World Cup we did that.

“Today was a little bit scrappy, but that happens in finals and there were probably some nerves out there, but we had two big moments and we managed to lift the trophy.

“We are in four competitions, three now because we have won one, and it’s going to be tough to win all four but, while we are in them, we go into every game trying to win it, starting with Wednesday.”