Erik ten Hag showed his authority to Manchester United players with unpopular decision

If Erik ten Hag was looking for an easy win in his early days as Manchester United manager, he could have had it with Harry Maguire.

The 29-year-old was under pressure after a disappointing season, struggling to keep his place in the team, never mind his role as captain.

There was an expectation that he would have to fight hard to retain the captaincy under the Dutchman and once United started pursuing Lisandro Martinez it looked like his place in the team might also be gone.

READ MORE: Why Fernandes is looking forward to Eriksen partnership

Maguire had become unpopular with supporters last season and there had been issues in the dressing room as well, with not everyone convinced about his credentials.

Ten Hag could have taken the captaincy off Maguire and told him to focus on his own game. It would have gone down well. But by now United’s players will have realised Ten Hag doesn’t do easy wins. He wasn’t bothered about scoring brownie points with his players or with fans.

He hasn’t just backed Maguire as captain, but as a first-team player as well. Every indication is he will partner Martinez when the season starts, with the perennially injured Raphael Varane on the outside looking in.

Ten Hag sat down with the travelling media in Melbourne on Monday and Maguire was once again raised, as he has been often so far this summer as one of the big talking points of pre-season.

The 52-year-old said the captaincy decision was solely down to him and said: "I always talk about a group of leaders. The captain is a really important one and I’m happy with him." He then backed Maguire to be a first-choice defender this season.

"I think he is. He’s proved it in the past but he has also to prove it in the present time and in the