Maguire’s pre-final message to the Reds

With experience in big matches for United and also with England at international level, Harry is no stranger to monumental occasions like our upcoming clash with the Magpies at Wembley (16:30 GMT kick-off).

And ahead of this fixture, which represents an opportunity for United to win our first trophy since 2017, the skipper says the Reds must “play with lots of energy and intensity.”

“Go out and enjoy it. Play with lots of intensity and take it all in really,” replied Maguire in a recent interview with club media, when he was asked what he will be saying to his team-mates in the dressing room before the final.

“Play with a smile on your face. I feel a big part of football is when you’re enjoying your football and you’re playing with a smile on your face, you bring the energy.

“You bring the energy and the intensity to your performance, so yeah, I think that’s the main message: go out, take it all in, enjoy it and win the game.”

United enter the clash with Newcastle with a blend of youth and experience in the squad, and Maguire believes this combination will serve to benefit the Reds when we take to the Wembley pitch.

“I think experience is really important,” he said. “We have some real good senior players who have played in these big games, have played in these big moments and there’s lots of people who can give lots of good advice.

“As a squad we have a good mix and of course the senior boys have got to give advice to the younger lads who haven’t been in these moments before.

“But also not too much that we take away their freedom because that’s what they do best. We’ve seen some of our young players coming through, they play with lots of freedom and that’s going to be important on the day too.”

Harry added that United supporters have waited “far too long” since our last trophy, and he is hoping that Sunday will provide the opportunity for Reds fans to celebrate with the players once more.

“Winning trophies is what this club’s about,” he declared. “It demands winning trophies.

“It’s been far too long since our last one, so we’ve got a good opportunity to win a trophy, and we have to do it for ourselves, for the club and obviously for our fans, because they’ve waited far too long as well.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but there’s no point in going to a final if you’re going to lose it.

“We need to be ready and focused, and we will be.”