HARRY MAGUIRE lined his Manchester United team up on the wrong side of the Old Trafford tunnel against Brighton.
But there is a good reason for his blunder.
Video footage from pre-match on Sunday shows Maguire and the rest of his Red Devil team-mates on the right side of the tunnel looking down towards the pitch.
However, David de Gea catches his captain’s eye and points to the left.
After a brief chat Maguire then steps across and politely asks Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk to switch his side across.
And after the brief confusion before the opening day of the season, Maguire led his team out on the left before the two teams took their positions on the pitch.
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Once they got on it, United’s defence got in muddles again as Pascal Gross popped up to score twice in the first half and set Brighton on their way to a 2-1 win, their first victory at United in 113 years of trying.
Maguire labelled the defeat as the “worst possible start” especially after going down 2-0 by the break.
However, the person to blame for Maguire’s minor blunder in the tunnel before kick-off is new manager Erik ten Hag.
It is understood the change to which side the players walk out is related to a switch made by the Dutch manager.
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Over the summer it was decided the home and away dugouts would be swapped – with Ten Hag wanting the seats closer to the tunnel and the Stretford End.
He observed the changes that could be made during his first visit to the stadium in May where he was accompanied by United football director John Murtough.
A club statement said: “In a new lay-out agreed with Erik, the home and away dugouts have been permanently switched so that the United manager, staff and substitutes will now be sat in the seats to the west of the halfway line – the dugout previously occupied by the away team.
“Erik approved the move after visiting Old Trafford for the first time in May and noting how the old away dugout was closer to the tunnel, and to the half of the pitch where substitutes warm up.
“Switching sides will also position the home staff and players closer to the Stretford End – the traditional heart of the home support – and align the dugouts with the halves of the pitch in which the home and away teams warm up before the game.”
It’s the latest change by the meticulous boss as he stamps his identity on his new club.
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In June it was revealed that he ordered ground staff to chop the grass to exactly 15mm.
He has also implemented changes at meal times, including no mobile phones and making players eat together.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
