Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has defended captain Harry Maguire as an “example” for the rest of his squad, after the defender’s latest high-profile error in Thursday’s Europa League exit at the hands of Sevilla.

Maguire’s error led to an early goal for Sevilla and his performance came under the microscope again as United lost 3-0 on the night in Spain to go out 5-2 on aggregate.

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But Ten Hag said the 30-year-old England defender remained a key member of his squad.

“He has an important role, he is the captain, he leads, he communicates with the manager, motivates the team, he’s the example in the training space,” Ten Hag said on Friday.

Maguire was not the only player to be criticised after the defeat and amid reports of a clear-out in the close season, Ten Hag said he was focused only on the current campaign.

“I’m thinking about improving this team and these players, that’s my job with the coaching staff and the players. We have all our focus on this process and not on other processes that will distract you,” Ten Hag added.

“I know this group of players can do better, they’ve proved it so many times this season. We’ve made huge progress during the season, but we have steps to go. We have a lot of games to play and occasions to prove it.”

United face another big game on Sunday, with an FA Cup semifinal against Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley. And Ten Hag said his team need to build a stronger mentality and learn to recover from setbacks during games.

Ten Hag said the team had the ability to respond to setbacks during the season but were struggling to find a way back into games when things do not go to plan, as happened in the loss to Sevilla.

“We can’t deny it, it’s mental, definitely. We have to learn that you keep going, you carry on,” he said.

“What this team can do very well is bounce back in between games, what they can do less is bounce back during a game to a setback. That is what we have to improve.”

Information from Reuters was used in this report.