Harry Maguire said Manchester United players feel they owe fans the trophies to pay off their faith during their disastrous Premier League season.
United are expected to finish in the lower half of the table for the first time since 1990, but their league format is in stark contrast to the results of the Europa League.
And after a 3-0 victory over Spanish athletic club on Thursday, Maguire and his teammates are on the brink of reaching the major European finals.
“I think that was a shame, so I don’t think it’s going to save the season,” Maguire said. “There are so many games we have lost, it’s so contradictory.
Harry Maguire has been playing for Manchester United since 2019. Guillermo Martinez/Anadoll via Getty Images
“It was a difficult season, and it was a disappointing season, but of course football is a memory, it is about making memories, winning trophies, and there is a great opportunity to win trophies.
“For our fans, that’s the thing that matters most because it’s what they deserve.”
United manager Reuben Amorim won seven of his nine Europa League games for United, but has only won six of his 23 Premier League matches.
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The Portuguese coach took on much of the responsibility of the poor league form himself after being appointed in November.
However, Maguire has his fingers pointed at the player and said he can’t deal with the midseason switch from Eric Ten Hag to Amorim.
“I was a bit confused mid-season,” he said.
“During the transition period, we didn’t handle it well, our players.
“We weren’t responsible enough from mobile managers to managers and it took too long to embed them in new ideas.”
Following the shock results in Bilbao, United are a big favorite to book a place in the final before the second leg of the semi-finals with Athletic Club next week.
Shortly after the game, Amorim insisted that his players still had more work to do at Old Trafford.
And his comments were reverberated by Maguire, especially in the roller coaster quarterfinals, after still fresh memories for Lyon.
“It’s still a long way,” he said. “I think there’s still work to do in the second round of the tie.
“We know they can score first, but we have to stay calm, and there are a lot of senior players who need to step up in their moments.
“We have senior players who need to handle these moments really well, and like I said, we’re going next Thursday and trying to get a win and get to the final.”
