Harry Maguire defended and told he deserves Manchester United position

Harry Maguire may be in a bad run of form but he 'hasn't become a bad defender overnight.'

That's according to former Premier League centre-back Curtis Davies, who has moved to defend the Manchester United captain after he came in for more criticism. Maguire had another difficult afternoon on Sunday as United were battered 4-1 by neighbours Manchester City.

He wasn't the only offender by any means but it wasn't a good display from the United defender. Kevin De Bruyne's early opener went through his legs and the ball did so again in the build-up to the Blues' second. With not much else in his performance to redeem him, Maguire has once again come in for flak, but Davies has stuck up for him.

ALSO READ: Manchester United wantaways are doing club a favour ahead of rebuild

"He is having a sticky time, I can’t hide from that," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily. "I’ve not been privileged enough to play for Manchester United, but when you play for Manchester United and you are the captain going into a derby game, as soon as anything goes wrong you are going to be one of the first people that gets blamed.

"When you’re a defender and you lose 4-1, it’s going to be heaped on even more. The fact that Ronaldo doesn’t play, the pressure all then goes to the captain.

"He hasn’t become a bad defender overnight. He’s in the Euros team of the tournament, played in the Euros final and World Cup semi-final. He has played himself up to this level to be a Manchester United player and I still believe that he is. The problem is when form hits badly, it’s hard to work your way out of it at a place like Manchester United when everything else is going wrong."

Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford