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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and captain Harry Maguire have quite different views on Roy Keane’s scathing analysis of the current squad, with Maguire downplaying Keane’s comments, but Solskjaer admitting “I always listen to Roy.” .
United will look to continue their perfect start to the Champions League group stage in Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday amid a poor start in the Premier League.
United may have a game in hand, but 15th place remains well below expectations, as Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal allowed them to start a season with four league games at home winless by first time since 1972-73.
Former Red Devils captain Keane was watching him like an expert and cutting off his assessment of his old club, saying he doesn’t “see the guys he wants to be in the trenches with, guys he trusts.”
The former midfielder said he was concerned that he “didn’t see any leaders in the whole team,” comments rejected by current captain Maguire.
“Well, I can say that I have not seen his comments, but we do not look at what is happening, especially after a negative result,” said the United captain.
“We don’t bring negativity to the scene. We stay positive.
“I can safely say that there are many leaders in the team. I am the captain and I also have a lot of leadership around me, staff and players, so for sure there are many leaders in this. team.”
Solskjaer was also asked about Keane’s comments, and the United manager avoided criticizing his player or former teammate.
“Roy has always been frank and I am very happy to have the players we have here with us,” said the Norwegian ahead of Group H’s trip to Turkey.
“We have different jobs and Roy’s job is to give his opinion and I always listen to Roy.
“But we move forward here with a great group of players, a strong group of players, and I’m sure we will see an answer.”
United’s troubles so far have been confined to the Premier League, with Solskjaer’s side following a 2-1 win over last season’s Champions League runners-up Paris St Germain by beating 5-0 at RB Leipzig.
Last week’s win against last season’s semi-finalists was a memorable Champions League debut for Maguire, whose impressive rise from backing Hull to United and England’s stalwart recently hit a road bump.
The 27-year-old received a 21-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court following an incident during a preseason break in Mykonos, a verdict the defender denies and is appealing.
Maguire hasn’t been at his best since returning to action for United and being sent off by England in last month’s Nations League loss to Denmark.
“My mind is completely focused on football,” he said. “Obviously I had a difficult period in the summer but, no, I am completely focused.
“I go into training every day, work as hard as I can and focus on each game as it comes.
“I can only say that I am still fully focused every day on improving and moving this club forward.
Maguire doesn’t pay attention to the criticism spread online – “don’t follow, don’t read it,” he said – and he knows United need to do much better.
Defense has been a key topic and naturally became a major talking point following Tottenham’s 6-1 home defeat, but the 27-year-old is confident they are on the right track.
“Obviously, as captain, I focus more on the team than the individual,” Maguire said. “We started the season defensively without being in the best shape.
“Against Crystal Palace we were too open (and lost 3-1) and Tottenham got carried away, especially when we were left with 10 men.
“We can’t concede six in any game, especially for this club. It’s not good enough, so we’ve been working hard on that since we came back from the international break.
“I feel that, since the international break, we have been very good defensively. We haven’t conceded many opportunities.
“I think Arsenal had a pair and we conceded two own goals and a soft penalty, really.
“Defensively we feel that we are on the right track, but we need to strike the right balance and that is our job as well, in terms of the form of attack and the balance between defense and attack.”
United will face an enemy known as former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel.
The 35-year-old told his team’s pre-match press conference: “We will play a difficult game with Manchester United. We are playing against the most important team in England and the group.”
Basaksehir has lost his first two games without finding the net.
Skrtel added: “We can be successful if we play our own game. We were not effective in scoring in two games, but this time we have to score. We will fight for the best result.”
Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba needs a late physical fitness test.
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