Pally pleased Maguire can break his record

The skipper was set to make it 72 full matches in a row in the division since joining the Reds last Sunday, only for the Reds' game with Liverpool to be postponed.

By an extraordinary quirk of fate, it now means Maguire can beat Pallister's record on the same ground where the four-time Premier League winner's run came to an end, back in 1995.

That was when Alex Ferguson's side lost 3-1 to Sunday's opponents Aston Villa, with David Beckham scoring a consolation goal.

Speaking with MUTV's Helen Evans, Pally recalled the match and stressed that he is happy to see the Reds' current defensive stalwart potentially overtake him by playing the full game in the Midlands, even if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested the run will have to come to an end during an incredibly hectic spell of three fixtures in five days.

"Thanks for ruining my weekend then, Helen," joked Pallister. "It was nice to hold that record.

“I remember the game I came off in. Ian Taylor of Villa had done me and I think I came off just after half-time. It was the game, the Alan Hansen game, when he said you never win anything with kids. We'd got beat 3-1 in the opening game of the season and I do remember that actual game.

“I wasn't aware I'd played 71 games. I know I was the first player to play every minute in the Premier League for the whole of the season. I knew I was the first to do that. I wasn't aware 71 was the record and Harry is going to break it.

"Listen," continued the former England centre-back. "He's been terrific this season, captained the club and I'm pleased for him. It shows what kind of a character he is. You get niggles along the way when you play that amount of games, but don't miss any, so he puts himself up every week.

“He doesn't seem to get an awful lot of rest, which is a bit like the gaffer used to do with me. He used to think I was better off playing rather than getting a rest, better off playing than training. I didn't have many games to have a rest so maybe Ole thinks the same about Harry.

“I'm pleased for him. It's nice to have a personal record like that. It's more about the resilience and ability the lad has got."

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the Tottenham midfielder, is currently the outfield player with the most minutes under his belt in the Premier League with 3,060.

However, a study found Maguire played more than anybody else in senior world football during 2020, racking up 5,105 minutes during the calendar year.