“He’s an easy target" - Jaap Stam says Manchester United star needs teammates' help to turnaround underwhelming run of form 

Manchester United star Harry Maguire is undeniably going through a torrid time. The 29-year-old's form has dipped with several of the club's fans calling for the captaincy to be taken away from him. Former Manchester United star Jaap Stam has called on the the defender's club teammates to help him out and back him in order to help him regain form and confidence.

Maguire was also recently booed and jeered by England fans as well, ahead of and during the Three Lions' 3-0 international friendly win against Ivory Coast. However, manager Gareth Southgate and several other England players were quick to jump to the defender's defense by publicly backing him.

Jaap Stam is of the opinion that Maguire's Manchester United teammates need to follow suit and help their the struggling defender out so he can start to feel confident again. Stam further stated that everyone makes mistakes but that Maguire has become an 'easy target'.

Speaking to bettingexpert (via the Mirror), Stam spoke about Maguire's situation and said:

“He’s an easy target because it’s easy to say that he is making mistakes or wrong choices. Everybody, even when I played, I made mistakes, I made wrong choices as well.

“I think he also needs to have help from his teammates. He also needs to have the confidence of people around him and they will have for him. But also from outside as well, so he can make these steps.

Stam continued:

"Sometimes now, when you see him play, he doesn’t look confident at times or not making the right decision. But that’s also part of a player and his career path. Sometimes you get ups and downs, you play well, and then you go down a little bit. But it’s about how you pick yourself up to become a steady player.

“They [his teammates] need to help him out as well. They need to tell him as well what he needs to do, and how he needs to play. He’s doing well within the national team as well when he plays. So he’s shown that he can play at a high level in the national team, not only for the country but also I think at Manchester United.”

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Jaap Stam urges Manchester United to provide Harry Maguire and others with individual training sessions

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Jaap Stam believes that Harry Maguire can do a lot better and improve significantly with the right training and individual attention. The former Red Devil further stated that buying quality players isn't enough, and that they need to be specifically trained in order to bring out their best.

He also claimed that since coaches are vastly outnumbered by players, several players often don't get the attention they require.

“I still think that he can do a lot better than what he’s been showing now," Stam said. "And I’m not saying he played very poorly but he has got the ability to improve. And if you bring in players of a certain quality or bring players in of a certain value, then you need to help this player out as well, to become a better player.

"I’m not sure that this is happening. I’m not sure if really, coaches you know, are working individually at times with the back four-five, with these players – not only him but also the other players."

Stam believes that individual training sessions will benefit not just Maguire but also other high-potential Manchester United players like Marcus Rashford. Stam said:

“Because there’s also some very young players – Rashford and others – that are in that squad that has a lot of potential but you also need to work with them individually. Extra sessions, or different sessions, to get more out of them.”