Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has admitted that he does not “really want to set any targets” for the current season under manager Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag’s men kicked off the 2024-25 Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford last week.
Manchester United summer signing Joshua Zirkzee ensured all three points for the Red Devils after he came off the bench and broke the deadlock in the second half.
The Red Devils will be hopeful of building momentum on Saturday when they travel to the Amex for their Premier League clash against Brighton.
United fell well short of a top-four challenge last season, with Ten Hag’s side suffering their worst league finish in the Premier League era.
The Red Devils ended the 2023-24 campaign in eighth place in the Premier League table and missed out on Champions League football for the current campaign.
Man Utd star Maguire sends message
Harry Maguire started the 1-0 win against Fulham and the former Manchester United defender impressed with his performance at Old Trafford.
However, the 31-year-old United defender came off in the 81st minute and was replaced by Jonny Evans after he appeared to be struggling in the match.
Maguire faces an increase in competition for a place in the starting XI this season after the signings of Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich and Leny Yoro from Lille.
Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, the England international insisted that the Red Devils “want” to be challenging for the top four this season.
However, Maguire warned Erik ten Hag that the “club demands” will be for trophies and the former United captain wants to add to his silverware cabinet.
“Obviously, we want to be in the Champions League spots,” he said.
“We missed out this season as we weren’t good enough in the league.
“I think we don’t really want to set any targets [but] I think this club demands trophies.
“So, we want to win another trophy, of course, and in the Premier League, we know [there are] large improvements that we need to do and make from what we did last season.
“For sure, we’ve got to improve on last season and let’s see where it goes and takes us.”
Ten Hag’s update on Maguire
Ten Hag admitted after the Fulham win that Maguire had not suffered an injury and the Three Lions defender was pulled off for a “precaution” after he had a “problem.”
“Not injured but I had to bring him off because he had a problem,” he told Sky Sports.
“Before he gets injured, a precaution. The win is very important, of course, but I’m so happy [of] no injuries today.”
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