'I feel sorry for him... his confidence is on the floor': Harry Maguire's NIGHTMARE form continues with red card for two rash tackles in England defeat – as Jamie Redknapp sympathises with Man United captain who has 'got a lot on his mind'
* Jamie Redknapp revealed he 'feels sorry' for Harry Maguire after his red card
* The Manchester United captain was sent off for a reckless challenge at Wembley
* Sky Sports pundit Redknapp said the £85million man is 'having a moment'
* Maguire has had a poor start to the season for both his club and country
Jamie Redknapp has revealed that he 'feels sorry' for Harry Maguire after the Manchester United captain was sent off for England against Denmark, as the Sky Sports pundit added the defender is 'having a moment'.
England boss Gareth Southgate named the £85million defender in his starting XI for the UEFA Nations League tie with Denmark, following on from his display in the 2-1 win over Belgium on Sunday.
But Maguire was sent for an early bath in the first half after committing two clumsy challenges on Kasper Dolberg, with referee Jesus Manzano brandishing a second yellow and reducing England to ten men.
Jamie Redknapp says he 'feels sorry' for Harry Maguire as his turbulent season continued. The £85m defender was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Kasper Dolberg at Wembley
It piles more misery on the former Leicester man, who was in the centre of a media storm in the post-season following his arrest in Mykonos, Greece.
His off-field turmoil has seemingly carried into the 2020-21 campaign, with his form dipping with the Red Devils, having featured in the 6-1 hammering to Spurs before the international break.
Redknapp said that he 'feels sorry' for Maguire and was reluctant to criticise a player 'lacking confidence' during a troublesome time in his career.
'I feel sorry for him,' Redknapp said at half time. 'It would be easy to rip him apart. He’s having a moment.
The dismissal further extends Maguire's torrid start to the 2020-21 campaign on the pitch
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said he 'feels sorry' for Maguire, who is having a 'moment'. United icon Neville said the dismissal 'sums up his last four to six weeks' on commentary
'He’s having a really bad moment in his career that he is somehow going to have to pull himself together and he’s got a big weekend coming up for him for Manchester United and he’s got to get his confidence back because he is a player really lacking confidence.
'There is a lot going on in his life. I think sometimes we forget that. You can genuinely see he is really struggling with his game at the moment.
'I think his confidence is on the floor, it’s obvious. You don’t become captain of Manchester United if you don’t have a lot about you. You have a presence, you have a quality that people like.
'Right now his confidence is on the floor it’s obvious to see. Everything I hear about him is he’s a really good lad. But he’s making mistakes I didn’t see him make a couple of years ago. He’s got a lot on his mind, there’s no doubt at all. Some players can handle it.
'Some players can play with things going on in their social life and it doesn’t bother them – that (the pitch) is their sanctuary. But others can’t. They go on there and carry it onto the pitch.
'You don’t know what’s going on in people’s minds, we are all very quick to judge, people ripping him apart on social media saying it’s the worst England display. But you don’t know how someone feels when going onto the pitch. He’s making a lot of individual mistakes.
'He has got to pick himself up and show something. He needs a good support system and I have no doubt that he will come through this.
England boss Gareth Southgate has come to the defence of his defender, who he said is 'in the centre of a storm'.
Gareth Southgate threw his support behind his heavily scrutinised player after the game. The England boss said Maguire is in the centre of a storm and he will be stronger for it
'For me he is a top player, he is a massive part of what we do,' Southgate urged after the game. 'He is having a period where he is getting a lot of sticks thrown his way but he is big enough to deal with that he will come through it, he will be stronger for it.
'He’s got our support and I’m sure his club will do the same. We have total belief in him. He is getting all sorts at the moment, from people who should know better. None of us like to be in the centre of that storm.
'When you get older you can rationalise it. He is experiencing it for the first time. It’s not as though he hasn’t had setbacks before, but the profile of the player he is now because of the club he plays at and the success he has had with us, he is having one of those periods where things are going against him but he has got to hang in there and things will turn.'
Meanwhile, United icon Gary Neville said that Maguire's nightmare display on Wednesday was a reflection of his start to the season thus far.
'It sums up his last four to six weeks,' Neville said on Sky Sports. 'Terrible time for him.
I thought he was lucky with the first challenge. In between a yellow and a red. That one was scruffy play from him. That touch, really slack. And the follow through as well.
'He made one mistake, don’t make the second. The touch lets him down and that follow through. He’s got nowhere to go with it, the Spanish referee.'
Shortly after Maguire's dismissal, England conceded to the visitors, with Christian Eriksen slotting home a penalty after Manzano deemed that Kyle Walker had committed a foul in the 18-yard box.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8840841/Gary-Neville-laments-Harry-Maguires-red-card-against-Denmark-England.html