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Gareth Southgate did not give Conor Coady a single outing during England’s march to the final of Euro 2020. The Everton defender is unfazed by his limited chances and is buzzing to give his best when called upon.
Internally, Coady was bestowed with the tag of ‘tourist’ and was unofficially crowned England’s player of the European Championships despite failing to make a single appearance.
The towering defender takes the jabs as they come and intends to improve his numbers this time around. The 29-year-old wants to make an impact with the Three Lions and believes he can make a contribution in Qatar.
“I don’t think of myself as that (tourist) if I’m being honest, I think of myself as a player who’s coming to try and affect, to try and help as much as I possibly can and to push everyone.”
“I’ve said it plenty of times before if you’re not going to play in a team, what are you going to do?
“You’re going to sit and talk and go back to your room or are you going to try and give the best of yourself to try and push people as much as you possibly can?,” the Wolves loanee commented.
“That’s all I want to do, I want to help if I’m called upon, I’ll be there to help as much as I can. But in terms of thinking of myself as that (a tourist) I don’t.”
"We see the same old Harry Maguire every time I come away." 🗣️
Conor coady shares his thoughts on how Harry Maguire will do ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/oGgBE0uhqZ
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) November 18, 2022
Maguire will return to his best
England will need to have to be in the best possible shape given their preparations. The Three Lions were stomped by all and sundry in the UEFA Nations League, failing to register a single win from their six group-stage fixtures.
While captain Harry Kane enters the quadriennial competition on the back of 12 goal haul in the Premier League, the same cannot be said about their defence. The centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and John Stones has waned off.
The Red Devils captain is a peripheral figure at Old Trafford while Stones is primarily being used as a right-back by Pep Guardiola this season. It is the former who has received criticism for his on and off-field antics.
Coady and Maguire go a long way back and played as kids at Sheffield United. He does not believe anything has changed in Maguire and English fans will see his best again.
“I’ll be honest, we see the same old Harry Maguire every time we come away,” he said.
“I’ve known him since I was kid at Sheffield United, I played with him when I was on loan there and he is a great friend of mine and an even better footballer.
“Listen, he gets a lot of stick, we all see that, I don’t think it’s warranted if I’m honest, because I think he’s a fantastic player and a fantastic human being.
“But we see the same old Harry Maguire every time he comes in and how he plays for England, the leader that he is, the character that he is, is a brilliant person.”
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