Ole has instilled belief in Rashford, says Cole
ANDY Cole believes consistent selection and a return to basic principles have allowed Marcus Rashford to shine under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tutelage at Manchester United.
The 21-year-old has netted six goals in ten appearances under United’s caretaker manager, with the latest strike handing United a 1-0 victory at Leicester on Sunday to ensure the gap to the Premier League’s top four remained at two points.
United were 11 points adrift of the final berth for Champions League qualification when Jose Mourinho was sacked on December 18, and Cole believes Solskjaer has restored Rashford’s confidence.
“Football is all about confidence,” Cole, who scored 121 goals in 271 appearances for United, told M.E.N. Sport at the launch of MLILY’s ‘leave the rest to us’ campaign as United’s global mattress partner.
“From the outside looking in, it didn’t look like Marcus had too much with Jose, or he didn’t believe Jose believed in him enough because he was in one week, then he was out, he was on the left, he was on the right.
“If you have a coach or a manager who believes in you, who keeps telling you how good you are, you start believing in yourself.
“And by the time you get out on the football pitch you start believing in yourself, you nick a goal, and then all of a sudden it all starts to flood back.
“What I have seen with Marcus now, and I’ve been saying it for some time, is go back to basics.
“How did you get in the team?
“When you first got in UNITED and rivals City are both monitoring Tanguy Ndombele’s progress at Lyon, according to reports in France.
The 22-year-old midfielder previously confirmed that he was the subject of a failed bid by the Blues in the summer. the team, you used to get it and people would slide you down the channel and you would use your pace. And then you start getting sucked into thinking ‘Oh, I don’t need to do that anymore.’ “You look at Marcus now, what’s he doing? Exactly what he was doing when he got into the team. How is he getting his goals? He’s running in behind, shooting. Football is basic, it’s a basic thing.” Rashford’s performances Andy Cole
Pep Guardiola is known to be on the look-out for a long-term replacement for Fernandinho in the heart of City’s midfield after missing out on the Barcelona-bound Frenkie De Jong, while United’s midfield options were reduced by Marouane Fellaini’s move to China at the end of under Solskjaer have seen the England forward cement himself as the first-choice striker at Old Trafford at the expense of Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium international, who Mourinho signed for £75m in the summer of 2017, has started just once in the Premier League under Solskjaer and Cole says the 25-yearold must play to his strengths to get back into the side.
“I would say the same thing for him as well,” Cole explained. “Go back to basics.
“I like Rom. What Rom no doubt knows himself, for him to come and get the ball to his feet is not his strongest department but his strongest department is using his pace and the January transfer window.
Ndombele broke into the French national team at the start of the season, making four appearances to date, and Le10Sport suggest that it would take a fee in the region of EUR80 million to prise him away from Ligue 1’s third-placed side. power to get in behind people and score goals.
“If you look at a lot of his goals, they’re a product of his pace and power. “It’s basic. Play to your strengths. “When he gets his confidence back and plays to his strengths, he’ll be okay.”
MLILY’s Leave The Rest To Us campaign perpetuates the belief that we are all athletes and legends, regardless of our professions, and that everyone deserves top treatment when it comes to a rejuvenating rest. NHS Staff members were invited to Old Trafford to sample MLILY’s products, along with United legends.