Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer urged to ‘take Harry Maguire out of the oven’ amid horror run of form by Rio Ferdinand
RIO FERDINAND has told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: “Take Harry Maguire out of the oven.”
The former Manchester United ace believes Maguire needs to be dropped for his own good after a summer of turmoil crowned by his England red card against Denmark.
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Harry Maguire is going through a horror run of formCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Ferdinand, 41, said: “It’s obvious to see he’s going through a bad spell.
“Nobody is immune from having a downturn in form and confidence.
“If you want to play well, then having that confidence is an absolute necessity.
“He’s lacking that and it’s very evident in his performances.
“In these situations – and I’ve been in them as well – you sometimes need to be taken out of the oven.”
BT ambassador Ferdinand added: “Sometimes just taking yourself out of the actual firing line for one game helps.
“It’s about having enough time to reflect, a chance to sit down and go through where you are at.
“When you are going game-to-game with matches every three or four days it’s very hard to see through the fog.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should rest Maguire, according to FerdinandCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
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Rio Ferdinand believes Maguire needs to be taken out of the firing lineCredit: PA:Press Association
“If you are taken out of the firing line you get time to sit back and analyse your performance, your training, preparation and recovery.”
But Ferdinand warned Maguire, 27, and Red Devils manager Solskjaer that there is no magic wand, adding: “It doesn’t happen overnight.
“It’s about getting through a game without being seen. That might seem silly but it is the way I used to look at it. At the moment he’s being seen for all the wrong reasons.
“So if he can get through winning a game, keeping a clean sheet, that’s the first of the building blocks.
“It’ll mean him playing simply, only putting his foot in when he needs to, not gambling like he did against Denmark, tackles that were taking risks.
“If you can tiptoe your way through a game, that builds the foundations.”
Ferdinand insisted the blame game must not stop at the Red Devils captain – and warned that Solskjaer and his management staff now have a huge test of their own capabilities.
He added: “With Manchester United, it’s not just about Harry Maguire. There’s a much bigger picture.
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Maguire was shown a red card after just 30 minutes for EnglandCredit: AP:Associated Press
“He is not the actual reason why people are questioning things. It’s about numerous things people are wondering why this, that and the other are happening.
“He’s just a part of it and being the captain of United you automatically become one of the main people they look to for reasons.
“I didn’t recognise that as a Manchester United team against Spurs.
“I would be sitting here lying if I was to dress it up in any other way.
“That and the Palace game were two performances you’d like to erase from your memory.
“I was part of a team that had performances like that and you do have downturns of form.
“United obviously had a shorter pre-season than a lot of teams and that may have played a part in the early games against Palace etc.
“But the Spurs game, there were no excuses. They were well off it and didn’t perform anywhere near their capabilities.
“It’s the job of Ole and his staff to really get that right.
“The international break came at the wrong time for them because what they needed was to get the players in the building to work on things. The next set of seven games are difficult, it’s going to be testing times — but this is where you see the character.
“I think Ole and his staff have learnt a lot from the players about their character in this early part of the season.”
Ferdinand was speaking as EE announced its customers will be among the first to gain access to Match Day Experience, a new set of immersive viewing features on the BT Sport app.
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