"Rangnick was right" - Paul Robinson applauds Manchester United interim manager for publicly backing underfire star

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been publicly backed by interim boss Ralf Rangnick in the midst of a poor run of form from the Englishman.

Rangnick's support for his captain has drawn praise from Paul Robinson.

The former England player agreed with the decision to keep Maguire as captain and said that everybody needs to put their hand up.

He told Football Insider:

“It does not matter who the captain is, there should be multiple leaders on the field. If you take the armband off Maguire, who is low on confidence, you will only make it worse. It the longer term it may benefit him but in the short term it will put even more focus on him."

Robinson added:

“There is absolutely no need to strip him of the captaincy. Yes, he’s not playing well but it’s not all his fault. You cannot just blame a captain. Everyone needs to take responsibility."

He further said:

“You need a team of captains. It would ruin his confidence if you stripped him of the armband now. Rangnick was right to back his captain, 100 per cent. Maguire needs support.”

Rangnick does not see any reason to remove Maguire as Manchester United captain

Given Harry Maguire's weak performances of late, questions have been raised over his role at Manchester United.

As leader, Maguire is expected to lead the club instead of piling on more misery. However, the English defender is in the middle of poor form at the club.

While admitting that Maguire has had some weaker moments, Rangnick said he does not plan to remove the player as captain of the club.

"I think when he came back after his injury he did extremely well. He had a very good performance, a very good game against West Ham United," Rangnick said.

He added:

"In the past two games, yeah he had some weaker moments, against Southampton and when we conceded the goal at Burnley, but he's our captain and I don't see any reason to change that."

Manchester United's next match is against Leeds United on Sunday. They will then move their attention to the Champions League, where they will face Atletico Madrid.