Harry Maguire has expressed that Manchester United's players feel significantly more comfortable operating in a back four formation, as the team edges closer to securing a return to Champions League football under interim manager Michael Carrick.
Transformation Under Carrick
United's fortunes have dramatically improved since Carrick took over on an interim basis in January, following the departure of Ruben Amorim. Monday night's 2-1 victory over Brentford was Carrick's eighth win in 12 matches, meaning United need just one point from their final four games to guarantee a top-five finish.
Amorim had heavily favoured a back three during his turbulent tenure at Old Trafford and faced criticism for his inflexibility. United's upturn in results has coincided with a shift to a back four under Carrick, though the 44-year-old did adjust his formation at half-time against Brentford to tighten the team's grip on the game.
Maguire's Impact and Comments
Maguire was outstanding at both ends of the pitch, with his header setting up Casemiro for the opening goal after 11 minutes. When asked whether some players were more comfortable with a back three after Amorim's spell, the England defender was emphatic in his response.
"No, definitely not. I think the formation change has helped us a lot to be honest. I think the results speak for themselves," Maguire told Sky Sports. "Michael came in and changed to a back four and the results have picked up a lot now. I think we're comfortable that we can play both formations, but yeah, we didn't cover the pitch well enough in the last 20 minutes of the first half and were letting too many balls into the box."
Carrick's Influence
Discussing Carrick's overall impact, Maguire praised the interim head coach. "The results helped the feeling massively. We had two tough fixtures when Michael came in (against Arsenal and Manchester City) and I think everyone was probably looking at them thinking, 'Oh no'. We managed to get six points and from then on everyone has believed in it and we've got confidence."
Maguire added: "I think we can still get a lot better in this formation as well. As a back four we can slide across the pitch a lot quicker, like we should have done in the first half today, but we will get better the longer we work as a unit in there."
He concluded: "But the results speak for themselves since the manager has come in and the formation has changed. We just seem to pick up results. I think the games previous, when Ruben was here, a lot of the games were 50-50 but we always ended up on the back of a defeat. Now it feels like it's the other way round where we're a lot better in both boxes; we defend our box a lot better and we're managing to be clinical in the other box."
