Manchester United's English defender Harry Maguire has said that it's hard to ignore criticism against him in an interview with The Times.

The 29-year-old footballer was landed by Man United in 2019 from Leicester City for 87 million euros (about $90.1 million). Back then he was the spine of England's defensive line and expected to play the same role for the "Red Devils."

However, the arrival of Erik ten Hag as the club's manager and center-half Lisandro Martinez this season stripped Maguire of his regular position in Man United's starting lineup. He missed seven games because of hamstring injury and sat on the bench during a series of games for non-injury reasons, including in the key competition against Liverpool.

Though he ceased to be Man United's favorite, he still has the backing of Gareth Southgate, manager of England, who added him to the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Maguire's lackluster performance in the club as well as the decision to include him in the national team have been met with criticism.

"I don't really like feeling sorry for myself but it's difficult not to dwell sometimes," Maguire told The Times. "I think people see footballers as robots who don't have emotions, but of course we have emotions. We're disappointed and we're hurt when we don't play well."

"If you lose games, individuals get portrayed as being in bad form. And for sure, individuals might not be performing as well as they can do, but the more you get spoken about, the more people talk about you," he added.

Four years ago in Russia, England reached the World Cup semifinals where they lost to Croatia 2-1. Last year, "The Three Lions" made the UEFA European Championship final but lost to Italy in penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium in London.

Maguire believes the national team "thought too much about not losing the game, rather than trying to win it" and could have "been a little more brave" in those losses.

Despite the criticism, Maguire is confident in his future. "My goal is just to keep improving, keep working as hard as possible and keep giving my best. I'm 29. I feel like I'm in a good position physically, mentally," he said. "I think I've been through a lot of challenges. But throughout your career – you're looking at a 15-year period – there are going to be so many ups and so many downs. I'm sure there are going to be many times when I'm in great form and there are also going to be many times when it's challenging again."

England are in Group B with USA, Iran and Wales at the Qatar World Cup. Their first game will be against Iran at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on November 21.