Reid all about Marcus

STEVEN REID says Marcus Rashford is the best striker England have produced since Wayne Rooney and fears the United whizzkid will pile the pain on his old club today.

Reid spent seven seasons with Blackburn between 2003 and 2010 when clashes between Rovers and United were regular dates in the football calendar.

Today’s FA Cup Fifth-Round clash, though, is the first meeting between the sides since Rovers were relegated from the top flight in 2012.

Now working as Jaap Stam’s right-hand man at Reading, Reid was powerless to stop the Royals being on the wrong end of a 4-0 hammering by United in the Third Round – a day when Rashford proved too hot to handle.

He said: “The boy is pure class. He never stops running, either looking for the ball in behind defenders or by dragging them wide out of position.

“He’s one of those forwards who turns bad passes into good ones, who leaves the pitch with the knowledge he has given everything for the team. He’s a breath of fresh air, the best I’ve seen in years. He reminds me of a young Wayne Rooney.”

The young Rooney used to go toe-to-toe with a Reid, 35, when the Irishman was a powerhouse in Blackburn’s midfield.

Rovers met United EIGHT times during Reid’s first three seasons at the club – winning three games to United’s two, with the other three games ending in draws.

But with Blackburn languishing second GARRY DOYLE from bottom in the Championship, Reid admits he is saddened by their rapid decline. He said: “Back then we saw it as a level playing field, particularly in the 2005-06 season when we did the double over them and ended that season in sixth spot. “So when I see where my old club is positioned now, it saddens me because the club is a shadow of its former self. “There was a time when we had a real belief in what we were doing as a group of players and a belief in Mark Hughes, the manager, who turned us into the fittest team in the league. “Plus, we had quality. Tugay pulled the strings from midfield, Craig Bellamy scored 17 goals up front the season we qualified for Europe and if we needed a bit of magic from somewhere, David Bentley or Morten Gamst Pedersen would provide it. “David got a hat-trick at Ewood Park and Morten scored twice at Old Trafford. And that was a good United team too – probably better than the one they have now. “That’s the key when you are a club like Blackburn or Reading facing a club like Manchester United. You have to be at your best from the word go. “The key for Blackburn today is to make sure they don’t look around at the talent on the pitch and be daunted by it. “That’s easier said than done, though, because Juan Mata is exceptional and then there is Rashford, who is unstoppable when he gets going.” STAR TURNS: Rashford (left) and Rooney