Harry Maguire laughed off his Hampden Park hounding as a “little bit of banter” as the under-fire defender said he can cope with pressure from the stands and on his England place.
Little more than two years ago, the centre-back was an ever-present for Manchester United and earned a place in the Euros team of the tournament after helping Gareth Southgate’s side reach the final.
But a drop in form and club game time, including being replaced as United captain, has led pressure and criticism to ratchet up on Maguire to a point that his international manager snapped following Tuesday’s 3-1 friendly win against Scotland.
Furious Southgate said the treatment of Maguire is “ridiculous”, “a joke” and “beyond anything I’ve ever seen” – a narrative that he believes led to home fans goading him mercilessly in Glasgow.
Every pass Maguire made was met by an ironic cheer after being brought on as a half-time substitute at Hampden Park.
“Well, it pretty much takes the pressure away from my team-mates and puts it all on myself,” Maguire said. “It makes them play better, for sure.
“It is a little bit of banter and it is a hostile environment, coming away to Scotland.
“We wanted to put on a performance and we have dominated from start to finish. We have given them a goal, which is a bit unfortunate you could say.
“But, yes, it was a great reaction from us all. We stayed calm, we stayed composed. I think it was a hostile environment.
“We knew coming here, when you hear the national anthem and the way they disrespect that, we knew it would be hostile and in the second half I got most of it.
“I am happy to go with that, don’t worry about that.”
Maguire was touched by the away support’s backing in Glasgow as Scottish fans attempted to rattle him.
“No, I would not say I am a person who struggles with pressure mentally,” Maguire said. “I have been through a lot in the last couple of years and I have been Manchester United captain for nearly four years.
“You take a huge lot of responsibility and everything that comes with it and that is a lot of bad as well as good.
“But it was a huge honour and of course it is a hostile environment here, which is how I described it, and they piled pressure on myself. I would not say I am used to it but I can deal with it.”
Maguire is grateful for the backing of Southgate, whose faith he believes he repaid with his performances in Scotland and away to Ukraine when he made his first start of the season on Saturday.
The 30-year-old brushed aside suggestions he was rusty but wants the rhythm back of playing week in, week out, saying he is confident that “the luck will turn” if he keeps working hard.
Maguire now turns his attention to the fight for his place at United, where a lack of minutes could put his place at Euro 2024 in jeopardy – something he says is “too far away” to worry about.
West Ham did offer him a route to regular action in the summer but the defender said “we didn’t come to an agreement” and United were happy for him to stay.
“Of course, my England career is a big priority,” he added. “And so is my club career.
“I considered everything and I know, at the moment, when I have not started a game in the first four games of the season, the story comes to me.
“I finished off last season with two very strong performances for England and I have played in all five matches to help put us where we are in qualifying, so I need to keep performing when I get chosen.
“Listen, at club football, I want to play games, I want to play football.
“The first four weeks were hard because it was one game a week and the manager didn’t select me but we have lots of games coming up now and I am sure I will play lots of games.”
Dyche still demanding 'the hard yards' from Everton despite Premier League safety
Sean Dyche claimed putting in "the hard yards" is what ultimately got Everton over the line when it came to securing their Premier League status.
Everton beat Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days in April to ensure their place in the top flight for another season.
That is despite two separate points deductions, worth eight points overall, having been dished their way this season. Everton are set to appeal the second decision at some point in May.
Last week's 1-0 win over Brentford saw Dyche's team move 11 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, meaning Friday's game against the Hatters no longer has so much riding on it for the Toffees, though Dyche will not let the hard work stop.
"I took over midway through so it is a bit different to last season. You try to re-model a group that's already been modelled, which is a challenge," Dyche told reporters.
"This season I think the biggest part of the success overall has been pockets of all different reasons. It is the work, work of the team I think we have got back to.
"We may lose it so much due to good performances when we were not winning but the hard yards as I call it, just doing the graft. The organisation, the will, the thirst and desire to work, to really work.
"I feel we still have good quality players here but it has to have a base to work from. You have to have a tactical understanding, you have to work, you have to do the hard yards, you have to cover the ground.
"Stats show for 60 minutes the ball is in play, if you're a player you're probably going to have it for one minute so what are you doing for the rest of it, for the other 59 minutes? You better be working because that's what the modern game demands."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luton Town – Ross Barkley
Barkley – who made 150 league appearances for Everton between 2011 and 2017 – has scored just one goal in 10 Premier League games against sides he has previously played for in the competition. However, that strike did come in a match at Kenilworth Road this season, a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.
Everton – Idrissa Gueye
Gueye played a crucial role in Everton's survival, scoring in the matches against Forest and Brentford. The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has netted three times this season, and the Toffees will be hoping to tie him down to a new contract.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Everton are winless in nine away Premier League games (D3 L6) since beating Burnley 2-0 in December. Indeed, while five of the Toffees' first eight league wins this season came away from home, each of their last four have all been at Goodison Park.
Luton have beaten Everton twice this season, once in the league and once in the cup, with both of those 2-1 wins coming at Goodison Park.
The Hatters have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10), with no side picking up fewer points than the Hatters since the start of this run (six). Despite this, they have only failed to score in one of their last 23 league games, a 2-0 defeat at league leaders Arsenal last month.
This is Everton's first away match against Luton since a 1-0 win in the League Cup in October 2007, with Tim Cahill netting an extra-time winner. Their last league visit to Kenilworth Road also ended in a 1-0 victory back in November 1991 thanks to a Robert Warzycha goal.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Luton Town – 36.7%
Everton – 34.6%
Draw – 28.7%
Grealish praises 'togetherness' in Man City's squad during title charge
Jack Grealish credits Manchester City’s togetherness for their recent success ahead of another crucial run-in in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s men are second in the table, just one point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, as they aim to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title.
City have already won the Club World Cup this season, beating Fluminense to earn the trophy, and they will also play in the FA Cup final against Manchester United for the second year in a row later this month.
Despite the hopes of back-to-back trebles being ended by their Champions League quarter-final exit to Real Madrid, Grealish is confident that City will finish the season successfully, highlighting the crucial strong bond amongst the team.
"I've said in a lot of interviews that, for me, the team I'm in now - and especially last year - it's just unbelievable, the togetherness we have. Over the years, there have been so many top teams in the Premier League that haven't done what we've done," he told Sky Sports.
"Even City's team in 2018-19, with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne and Man United's team in 2008-09, with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez - none of these teams won the treble.
"That says something about our team because you can have all of the talent in the world, but you need to have the other side of it as well, like that togetherness of the pitch. That's something we had so much of, and we've got it this season as well.
"With the experience we have and the quality we have, we don't really doubt ourselves.
"I feel like everyone knows how hard it is to win a treble. We did it last year, and it was one of the best feelings I've ever had in football, especially having played such a big part in it.
"I just want to finish the season strongly, try and win every competition we're in at the moment."
Grealish has struggled with injuries this season, managing 33 appearances in all competitions, and scoring just three goals.
Since making his return against Arsenal at the end of March, the 28-year-old has played in all but one of City’s eight games, and he is determined to make a successful finish to the season.
"When I'm injured, I start watching clips of myself and just remember how many good moments I have had in football. It brings back my love for football," he said.
"There's nothing that beats it. It's what I'm used to, and it's what I've done my whole life, so when I'm stuck indoors while the team are out training for a month or six weeks, it is difficult at times.
"Being injured certainly gave me that extra motivation to come back and just play well again and try and succeed with City. I'm over the moon to be back and, hopefully, I can have a strong end to the season."
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
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