Harry Maguire has had a very tough time of it as of late. Not only has he been going through a torrid spell of form at Manchester United, but even England fans began to turn on him this week.
The defender has been a subject of ridicule for a number of months now. As United struggle on all fronts, his role as captain at the club has been pointed to as an example of their failings over the last number of years.
Some have called for the captaincy to be taken away from him over the remainder of the season and given to Cristiano Ronaldo so that Maguire can focus on rediscovering his own form without the added responsibility of the armband.
However, Roy Keane feels such a move would be misguided.
Roy Keane feels United must stick with Harry Maguire as captain
The former Ireland captain and current Sky Sports pundit has hardly been shy in his criticism of Maguire in the past, often singling him out after poor United results. In saying that, he is not buying into this talk that the player should have the captaincy taken away from him.
Speaking on The Overlap, Keane said that Harry Maguire needs to be allowed to play his way through his current struggles.
For Harry, when he came to the club and was given the captaincy, that said more to me about the other players that none of them were able to take the responsibility. Harry has come into a team that is struggling.
It would be difficult now to take it off him. Taking the captaincy off him and say 'you focus on your own game', I don't think that's ideal. He will just have to try and grow with it...
It's hard to go back now and say to Harry Maguire 'you would be better if you gave the captaincy up'. There would be a long way back for him, I don't think that's a good option...
When you get the captaincy, you don't apply for it. The manager pulls you in because he obviously saw something in him, be it Ole or his staff, and thought 'you can be a good leader'. He probably can be a good leader and he probably will be, but he has to go back to being a good player first...
You need to get on top of your own game before you start leading or giving out to people. Players do look at you and go 'don't you be having a go at me when you're struggling yourself', that's human nature.
I'm convinced the players in the dressing room aren't looking at Harry Maguire and thinking 'you don't deserve it' or 'we don't respect you', I think they do...
There might be (cliques in the dressing room). At this moment in time there is a lot going on. The captaincy, I don't think that's the number one problem at Manchester United.
The fact that Maguire was immediately handed the captaincy after arriving at Old Trafford was a big decision, especially when you couple it with the fact that he had also been signed for a world record fee for a defender. It certainly added a bit of extra pressure that the player may not have needed during this period.
The armband seems to be weighing heavier than ever on him at the moment, something many feel has not been helped by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room.
Keane feels that Maguire just needs to go back to basics at the minute, cutting out some of the needless mistakes he has been making as of late. He thinks it would also be no harm for the Englishman to lay down a marker to any players in the squad that may be questioning his leadership.
It reflects badly on the group at the club that he was given the captaincy just after arriving. Surely there was somebody in the club where they had been there for five or six years and had played a few hundred games for United? They obviously didn't have great belief in De Gea to be the captain.
That's the biggest worry, the lads that were there, not that Harry got it when he walked through the door for a big fee. When you go to a big club you do need time to settle in, you need to learn the ropes. To be fair to Harry, he was thrown under the bus when he was given this captaincy...
I used to say it to myself, 'keep it simple stupid'. I see him doing things on the pitch there where he is trying to beat players on the edge of the box and you think 'hold on a second'. This is common sense, just clear your lines. We saw it against Atletico, he was trying to beat somebody in the box and ended up rolling it back to the keeper from two yards away, cut that crap out.
Don't worry about the leadership or Ronaldo, there will always be big players in the dressing room...
If Ronaldo or these other lads are trying to run the show or take over your leadership, you can also put marks down in training with people. You put your marker down that you're a senior player and follow me.
Manchester United may be out of the running for trophies this season, but they still have a big couple of months ahead as they attempt to finish in the top four.
They look like outsiders to do so at the moment, although a return to form from some of their key players could put them right back into contention. The issue is that such a switch in momentum is looking increasingly unlikely.
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