Dimitar Berbatov sends message to Manchester United player Harry Maguire after another turbulent week

Dimitar Berbatov sympathises with Harry Maguire but warned him he can't afford to make any more 'mistakes' if he gets another chance to play from the first whistle for Manchester United.

Maguire has found himself in the centre of a storm this week after the centre-back came in for harsh criticism for scoring an own-goal in England's 3-1 win over Scotland. The defender's selection in the squad in the first place had come under scrutiny given his lack of minutes for United and his continued struggles when on the pitch.

Erik ten Hag stripped Maguire of the captaincy over the summer as he's no longer a first-choice starter at Old Trafford having slipped behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and even left-back Luke Shaw in the centre-back pecking order. United were open to selling him this summer and accepted a £30m bid from West Ham but Maguire turned the move down.

England manager Gareth Southgate condemned the 'ridiculous treatment' Maguire has been subjected to after the match and labelled the criticism he has faced as a 'joke'. A host of other pundits have since lept to the 30-year-old's defence and his mother posted a message of support on social media on Thursday.

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Berbatov believes if Maguire does get any more minutes for United then he must keep things simple to avoid mistakes and risk making things worse. "If he gets the chance to play from the first minute for United, then Maguire will be playing for his career," he told Betfair.

"He cannot make any mistakes. Whenever he makes a mistake, he will be making his situation even worse.

"He should play it simple, with one or two touches. He should try not to overdo stuff, but it starts with if