Manchester United veteran defender Harry Maguire said the club is ready for a fresh start after a poor period. United had a horrible run in the previous season, finishing in 15th place in the Premier League standings. The Old Trafford-based club could only manage 11 wins out of the 38 matches.

United played nine draws and suffered 18 losses and could only aggregate 42 points, which is their worst ever season in the last 50 years.

Meanwhile, United had a decent run in the preseason in the US, managing wins against Bournemouth and West Ham. Ruben Amorim’s men also drew with Leeds United and Everton.

Amorim’s team has made new signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, as well as a £50 million ($67m) training ground upgrade.

“The lads are working hard and it’s a great atmosphere in the place,” Maguire said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.

“We want to be successful, we’re doing everything we can to be successful. Sometimes we know it’s not been good enough for a recent [period] and we’ve not given our fans as much.

“I feel like it’s almost a little bit of a fresh start and hopefully this start is a good start.”

The defender admitted they have failed to play like the best team in the last decade since Alex Ferguson’s departure, and the same is palpable in results.

“There has been a transition period, obviously, when Sir Alex [Ferguson] was here and we had the best team by far and won all the trophies,” Maguire said.

“But the reality is that we’re not the best team.

“You’ve got to thrive off the pressure and you’ve got to play like you’re playing in a playground. I think that’s what we’ve struggled to find over the last 10 years.”

Addressing the criticism he gets at United, the 32-year-old said: “I think there’s more scrutiny on Manchester United just because more people in the country hate them — and that’s just a fact.”

United will begin their Premier League campaign against Arsenal on Sunday at Old Trafford.