QUICK OFF THE MARC
Erik will make instant impact insists Rashford
MARCUS RASHFORD has backed new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to have an instant impact and transform the crisishit team.
United begin their pre-season a week on Monday, with their first game under Ten Hag against Liverpool in Bangkok on July 12, as part of their summer tour of Thailand and Australia.
Rashford struggled last season, scoring just five goals in 32 games, and must convince Ten Hag (inset)
of his worth after losing his status as a United regular.
But the forward, who has also lost his England place and is set to miss out on the World Cup, reckons the former Ajax boss will get his philosophy across immediately.
“When a team changes its identity and changes the purpose of the football, it’ll be quite obvious to see,” said Rashford.
“At the beginning of pre-season you want to get your fitness levels up. You want to get back to what it’s like to play in the Premier League.”
After facing Liverpool, United take on Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace in Melbourne, before ending the Australian leg of the tour against Aston Villa in Perth.
They have two more pre-season friendlies, against Spanish sides Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano, before the new Premier League campaign kicks off on August 6. Rashford is convinced United’s first pre-season tour since 2019 will be a key aspect of the rebuild undertaken by Ten Hag.
“We all enjoy getting away and spending that time together,” said Rashford.
“Being away from home for so long, the team is like your little family. We’ve not been able to travel because of Covid and it’s something that we’ve missed.
“It’s always a big part of our preseason. It’s exciting to be able to go to those places again.
“For a club like United, it’s important to play at
some of the biggest and most popular stadiums around the world and, luckily for us, we’re getting the opportunity to do that. “It’s going to be a new experience for some of us and it’s important we embrace it and enjoy it.”
Rashford, who starts a 10-day individual pre-season training camp in the US this week, is likely to have to do more than most United players to impress Ten Hag.
The 24-year-old had his attitude called into question earlier this year by one of Ten Hag’s new coaching team, former United No.2 Steve McClaren.
Ex-England manager McClaren, who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson from 1999 to 2001, did not hold back earlier this year when addressing Rashford’s loss of form. “He gets deterred too easily and doesn’t fight through bad moments,” said McClaren. “He doesn’t stay in the game. If he’s not having a good game, he’s not having a good game.
“I hate that attitude in a player. Body language is so, so important.
“But Rashford has probably had this problem throughout his career, in terms of questioning his attitude.
“If he’s not having a good first half, he will never have a good second half.
“I just look at him and think that boy needs help, off the field and through the manager.
“There’s that one cornerstone which we call mentality, attitude, which he hasn’t grasped yet.”