Harry Maguire feels Manchester United’s problems are not related to tactics, and claimed the players are “not mentally focused”.
United boss Ruben Amorim labelled his side as “maybe the worst in the club’s history” following the weekend defeat to Brighton.
The Portuguese made clear today he was referring to his own efforts since replacing Erik ten Hag in November, rather than criticising the players, but experienced defender Maguire insisted they should take their share of the blame.
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United have fallen behind in each of their last five league games and conceded the opening goal within five minutes three times.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League game against Rangers at Old Trafford, Maguire said: “If I could explain it, we’d change it straightaway.
“We have players who have won lots of trophies in club football but we are not playing well enough as a team.
“We gave Brighton a goal. We had spoken about it pre-match. The first goal against Nottingham Forest was a set play – and against Bournemouth.
“These aren’t things that are tactically a problem. You have to be mentally ready to win a match. At the moment we are not getting the small margins because we are not mentally focused.”
Rangers will be a stiff test – Maguire
A win against Rangers would all but secure United a place in the knockout stages but Maguire is not expecting an easy night against the men from north of the border.
He added: “We expect a tough game, we know they will come here and give all they’ve got and bring a great support.
“They have done extremely well in the competition so we expect a tough game but we will focus on ourselves and making sure that we perform after a tough defeat at the weekend.
“We will go into the game with confidence that we can perform and get the three points.”