Jaap Stam says Man Utd teammates are also responsible for Harry Maguire's poor form

Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam says Harry Maguire has become ‘an easy target’ and believes it is up to his club teammates to make life easier for him.

Maguire has endured a torrid campaign at Old Trafford and despite maintaining his form at international level, was booed by a section of England supporters during this week’s international break.

The United captain has faced calls to be stripped of the armband with Jamie Carragher suggesting this week the skipper lacks ‘authority’ in the United dressing room – which is in turn affecting his performances on the pitch.

Treble-winner Stam however believes Maguire can emerge a better player from this troubled spell.  

‘He’s an easy target because it’s easy to say that he is making mistakes or wrong choices,’ Stam told Betting Expert.

‘Everybody, even when I played, I made mistakes, I made wrong choices as well.

‘I think for him, and that’s what I meant, by what I said before, 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.

‘I’ve seen him play before as well when he was at Leicester, and he played good games.

‘Yeah, 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.’

Stam added it is up to the players around Maguire; namely United’s goalkeeper, the full-backs and the options in front of him in midfield, to communicate better and offer better options off the ball for