Paul Ince has applauded Ralf Rangnick for starting Harry Maguire on the Manchester United bench at Brentford last night.
Speaking on the United Stand, Ince believes the decision to make the skipper a substitute once again sent a message to the rest of the group.
Maguire had to watch from the sidelines for most of the match last night as United took on Brentford for the first time in the Premier League.
The defender sat out the previous top-flight outing at Aston Villa. In both fixtures, the captain has seen his teammates not only score some decent goals but also concede a few sloppy ones.
Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford were all on target in the second half against the Bees, ensuring Ralf Rangnick’s group swept up the three points.
Nevertheless, had David De Gea not stood up to the task or Brentford been so wasteful, United could have been out of the game by half time.
Maguire isn’t invincible
Maguire replaced a clearly disgruntled Cristiano Ronaldo with 19 minutes remaining to solidify their 3-0 lead. Ironically, Brentford scored after the England international entered the fray.
Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane had coped well without the 28-year-old by their side, justifying Rangnick’s decision to omit him from the starting XI.
“I’m glad this has happened because now Maguire has got competition. Now it’s not a foregone conclusion Maguire’s going to play,” said Ince on the United centre-back’s omission.
“We’ve seen (Bruno) Fernandes put on the bench. We’ve seen Rashford put on the bench. These players were guaranteed to play week in, week out. Fred’s been on the bench too.
“I’m glad there’s this competition, not complacency that, ‘yeah, I’m going to play every week’.
“If you see your captain sitting on the bench and not in the team, that sets an example to the rest of the team – nobody is irreplaceable.”
Rangnick riles Ronaldo
Rangnick certainly hasn’t hidden from ruffling feathers since being appointed interim manager.
Rashford, Fernandes and Fred have found themselves dropped this season having previously been regulars under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Perhaps the current coach’s most publicised act came last night, however, when he removed Cristiano Ronaldo with more than a quarter of the match remaining.
For any other player, the change would have been swept under the carpet and, taking off an ageing forward who has just returned from injury, sounds like a wise call. Especially with one eye on a huge meeting with West Ham United this weekend .
Not if you’re Ronaldo, however, who threw his toys out of the pram after he stepped off the pitch. Rangnick turned his back until it was safe to explain the reasons why he needed to protect the Portuguese talisman.
Following reports of mutiny in the camp, the stand-in boss is seemingly earning their respect through tough love.
It’s not every player’s favourite method – but it certainly works for some. Just ask Sir Alex Ferguson…
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