IT’S TIME TO MAKE A MARC

Rashford will be handed the chance to impress at Bournemouth tonight so he can grab a spot in the Cup semi-final and shake off his tag as a cameo-role player

MARCUS RASHFORD will tonight be given a chance to show he deserves a place in the Manchester United line-up for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Spurs.

He is set to start at Bournemouth after Jose Mourinho vowed to axe the flops from the humiliating 1-0 home defeat to West Brom, which confirmed Manchester City as champions.

Although Mourinho said tonight was a chance to secure a start against Spurs, for Rashford it is an opportunity to prove he can escape the cameo-role status that has come to define him over the past two seasons.

An automatic pick in the final months of Louis van Gaal’s United tenure, when he started 18 of the final 19 games of the 2015-16 season, it has been a contrasting experience under Mourinho.

The Reds boss defends his handling of the 20-yearold by pointing out he has been involved in 98 of the 113 matches since he took charge, more than any other player.

But only 52 were starts, with 46 from the bench.

Although Rashford is sixth on the list of players with the most minutes under Mourinho – 5,399 – he is eighth in terms of the number of starts made. Rashford has two years left on a £75,000-a-week deal, with the option for a further year.

And while the Manchester-born forward – who has been at the club since the age of seven – has no desire to leave, his frustration at not starting could ultimately see him question his future.

He began the season effectively job-sharing with Anthony Martial, another forward who has become disillusioned at his lack of regular starts under Mourinho. Rashford got the nod over Martial, who would come on for him late on in games in what became a regular pattern at the start of the campaign.

They then began to share duties on the left of United’s attack, but the arrival in January of Alexis Sanchez (left) from Arsenal saw both pushed out of the frame to accommodate him.

The Chile star was guaranteed a starting place, not least because of his £500,00-a-week salary, even though he has yet to justify that exorbitant wage in his 13 games. Rashford has started three of 14 games since Sanchez made his debut in January, while Martial has fared slightly better with four.

But with Mourinho looking to add to his attack in the summer – Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann are among targets – both are going to find it increasingly hard to reclaim a regular starting place.

United’s defeat to West Brom has left them in danger of relinquishing second place in the Premier League, with Liverpool now just a point behind, although Mourinho’s side have a game in hand on their arch- rivals.