Harry Maguire Sets Standard for New Season at United
Harry Maguire has set the bar for the new season in the simplest way possible: match, or better, the surge that followed Michael Carrick’s arrival.
Since Carrick took charge, United have collected more Premier League points than at any other stage of last season. For Maguire, that isn’t a nice statistic to dress up a difficult year. It’s the standard.
“If we can continue that momentum, that would be great. We had the most Premier League points since he joined, so that will be our aim this season,” the 33-year-old told the club’s media, laying out the target with the bluntness of a senior pro who knows exactly where the line now sits.
New ideas, same demand
Momentum alone won’t be enough. Maguire knows it, Carrick knows it, and the dressing room has been reminded of it throughout a demanding pre-season.
“There will be new ideas and new ways of playing. There will be different tactics that the manager wants to see from us,” Maguire said. United, in his eyes, played well “in a lot of games” during Carrick’s early months but left plenty on the table. The players are under no illusions about that.
So the work has been detailed and, at times, unforgiving. Tactical tweaks, positional demands, pressing triggers. All of it geared towards a sharper, more ruthless version of the side that quietly became one of the league’s form teams in the second half of last season.
“We've been working hard on that during pre-season,” Maguire added. “I think you are going to see a lot better performances from us this season.”
World Cup omission turns into a gift
One of the key beneficiaries of that work has been Maguire himself. Left out of England’s World Cup squad by Thomas Tuchel, the centre-back watched the tournament from afar. On paper, it looked like a setback. In reality, it gave him something he has rarely enjoyed in recent years: a full, uninterrupted pre-season.
The impact showed as soon as Carrick settled in. Since the turn of the year, Maguire has won more Premier League duels (44) than any of his team-mates, a statistic that underlines both his aggression and his renewed sharpness at the heart of the defence.
“I feel like you improve your fitness every week that goes by during pre-season,” he said. “It's been nice to go straight into a 60-minute game and be able to build myself up. I am pleased with the way it's gone.”
That personal progress has been mirrored across the squad. The players who went deep into the World Cup have now filtered back into Carrick’s sessions, and the level has risen again.
“As a team, I think we're in a really good position. We're all fit and looking strong,” Maguire said. “It's great to have all the players back from the World Cup. It makes our squad even stronger and improves the competition for places and that is the way it should be at this club.”
Competition is no longer a slogan at United; it is a reality. And Maguire, once under pressure for his place, now looks intent on defending his spot with the same intensity he shows in those duels.
A familiar start, a ruthless need
United’s campaign begins on 22 August with a trip that will mean more to Maguire than most: newly-promoted Hull City, one of his former clubs. Sentiment, though, will last only until the first whistle. The fixture list doesn’t allow for anything else.
After Hull, Carrick’s side run straight into a demanding stretch: Ipswich Town, Everton, Manchester City, Fulham. All before the September international break. It’s the kind of opening that can either fuel a title push or leave a club chasing shadows by autumn.
Maguire is under no illusions about what’s required.
“In the Premier League, you always want a good start. You don't want to be playing catch-up in the Premier League because there are so many good teams,” he said. “There are no given games. When you play against anyone, you've got to go out there and fight for the three points because you know the following week it is going to be just as tough, and that is part and parcel of the Premier League.”
That is the reality Carrick and Maguire are walking into: no soft landings, no early freebies, no time to ease into rhythm. United finished last season as one of the division’s strongest sides over the second half of the campaign. Now comes the real question.
Can they start like that?
