Gareth Southgate has insisted Harry Maguire will come back stronger after the defender’s nightmare start to the season continued with a red card in England’s defeat to Denmark.
The Manchester United centre-back was sent for an early bath after committing two clumsy challenges, with referee Jesus Manzano brandishing a second yellow and reducing England to ten men.
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It piles more misery on the former Leicester man, who was embroiled in the centre of a media storm in the post-season following his arrest in Mykonos, Greece.
But Southgate is confident his luck will turn, insisting the 27-year-old is merely going through a tough period, while people who criticise him ought to ‘know better’.
“He’s going through one of those periods where a lot of things are going against him,” Southgate told talkSPORT.
“He’s getting all sorts of comments from people who should know better.
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“But he’s strong and he’s just got to tough this period out.
“You have these periods as human beings when life doesn’t always go smoothly.
“He’ll get through it and he’ll be a better player and a stronger for it.”
Jamie Redknapp echoed the sentiments of the England boss, admitting the loss of confidence in Maguire’s game was clear for all to see.
“It’s easy for us to sit here and rip him apart: ‘He’s having a nightmare, he’s conceding goals,'” Redknapp said at half-time.
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“He’s having a moment. He’s having a really bad moment in his career, he’s going to have to somehow pull himself together, he’s got to get back. Big weekend for him coming up for Manchester United.
“He’s got to get his confidence back because he’s a player really lacking confidence. There is a lot going on in his life and I think we sometimes forget that.
“When you go out on the football field you think everything is going to be right, but you can genuinely see he’s really struggling with his game at the moment.”
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