Bryan Robson defends Harry Maguire and stacks him up against Manchester United greats

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has come in for heavy criticism throughout this campaign.

Bryan Robson has defended Manchester United captain Harry Maguire - but admits the £80million defender is no match for Paul McGrath or Rio Ferdinand.

A man who needs no introduction at Old Trafford, club ambassador Robson played 461 matches between 1981 and 1994 and is still affectionately known as 'Captain Marvel'.

Maguire currently holds the United armband - but has come in for heavy criticism this season.

After helping England reach the Euro 2020 final last summer, the 28-year-old has underperformed.

However, that can also be thrown at several United teammates.

Prospects of sealing Champions League qualification have increased since interim manager Ralf Rangnick replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - initially until the end of this season - but Maguire found himself out of the United line-up for two games before Victor Lindelof's personal circumstances offered him a route back into the team.

Robson says Maguire needs to be given more credit as a player, although he had no hesitation in picking a former teammate - McGrath - over him when prompted.

Speaking as a guest on the Michael Anthony Show podcast, Robson said: "Harry Maguire is a better player than what people are giving him credit for. Harry is decent on the ball, he is decent in the air. The one thing he lacks is that little bit of pace. If you could give him a fair bit of pace... he's a decent player. I like the lad."

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Asked to pick between Maguire and McGrath, he added: "McGrath. I'm not sure, but it might have been me that started off calling him the Rolls-Royce. Paul was unbelievable. Yeah he probably was [better than Rio Ferdinand]."

You can follow the Michael Anthony Show podcast on Twitter via the @MAShow_podcast handle.

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