Roy Keane believes Harry Maguire is holding back his Manchester United team-mates from committing to an aggressive press. 

The United legend believes the team is ‘frightened to death’ to fully commit due to fears Maguire would be caught out by a ball over the top. 

After their 2-1 defeat by Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday, Jamie Carragher blasted United for their disjointed defensive set-up and lack of pace in defence and midfield. 

Keane believes Maguire is at the root of the problem, with huge midfield gaps being created as some players press and others hang back.  

‘They aren’t pressing up. I don’t want to be just pinning it on [Harry] Maguire, but there’s always that worry with Maguire coming up and squeezing the pitch, like all the other top teams are doing,’ he told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. 

Roy Keane thinks Manchester United’s players are ‘frightened to death’ due to fears of exposing Harry Maguire

Manchester United's press has been disjointed - and Keane thinks players are hanging back

Manchester United’s press has been disjointed – and Keane thinks players are hanging back

‘There’s that worry with him all the time – that’s where there is gaps. They are frightened to death to come all the way up because they’re thinking ‘anything over the top, he’d be in trouble.’

Keane expanded on his concerns with the differing styles across the pitch, pointing out that there is a lack of cohesion in pressing – with the former United captain pointing to Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes as examples of players who will not subscribe to a high-energy form of defence.

‘Manchester United haven’t got the players to [press],’ he said. 

‘[Bruno] Fernandes is not going to do it. Rashford won’t do it. They might do it for five or ten minutes, so if you’ve got a team that’s not going to press – we’re talking about leopards and spots. 

‘Man United are never really going to be good at that pressing side of it.’ 

Carragher also expanded on his comments from the weekend, adding: ‘Teams now press from the front, press high and everyone is on the halfway line. 

‘Man United are trying to do two different things; the front six were going man-to-man pressing [against Fulham], and the back four were miles behind them. You’re either one or the other.’

While there has been some improvement of late, United’s defence on the whole has struggled this season.  

He also claimed Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes 'won't' press throughout a match

He also claimed Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes ‘won’t’ press throughout a match

Carragher used his five-minute analysis spot on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football to focus on Man United's defending

Carragher used his five-minute analysis spot on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football to focus on Man United’s defending

United have been plagued with defensive issues this season, conceding four against Copenhagen

United have been plagued with defensive issues this season, conceding four against Copenhagen

They shipped four goals against Copenhagen and Bayern Munich, and three against Galatasaray (twice), Manchester City, Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Wolves. 

The defensive conundrum has been a persistent problem for Erik ten Hag, who at one point even experimented by dropping Raphael Varane for several games in favour of Jonny Evans. 

Following the loss against Wolves, in which Alex Iwobi scored an agonising 97th-minute winner, pundits laid into their disorganisation.

Carragher told Sky Sports: ‘We go to the reason why they’re poor defensively and can’t cope with counterattacks.

‘They’ve got no pace at the back and they have a lack of legs in midfield. Another big problem for them is when they’ve got the ball.’

‘These players can’t receive the ball in the positions they take up so actually there is a massive problem for Manchester United when they’ve got the ball.

‘How many times have we seen Manchester United players having to run 40 yards back towards their own goal?’ he added.

Gael Clichy joined Carragher in his analysis, adding: ‘The compactness of Manchester United is off, a simple pass will eliminate maybe six players of United and what you see is a four against three.’

Carragher replied: ‘The most important thing in defending is being compact, it will not go out of style.’

Roy Keane was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.

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Post source: Daily mail

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