Rashford slams critics of his body language when Man United lose
‘That’s normal isn’t it? We have to win’: Marcus Rashford hits back at criticisms of his body language when Manchester United lose… as homegrown hero insists the Red Devils will only get better under Erik ten Hag
- Marcus Rashford has hit back at criticism he has faced about his body language
- The Manchester United forward believes the frustration he shows is natural
- Rashford has been in fine form so far this season, already scoring five goals
- He believes the Red Devils will only improve under new boss Erik ten Hag
Marcus Rashford is more than famous enough for his body language to be closely scrutinised after every Manchester United defeat.
That has happened too frequently for his liking over the past couple of years, most recently in an ‘embarrassing’ 6-3 derby defeat by Manchester City last weekend.
After one loss, Roy Keane said of the 24-year-old England international. ‘Really shocking. Shrugging his shoulders when things weren’t going his way. You roll your sleeves up at Manchester United.’
Marcus Rashford has hit back at criticisms of his body language when Manchester United lose
Thankfully, Rashford has something to smile about at the moment, his midweek double against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League meaning he’s already equalled last season’s goal tally of five.
But he argues those looks of anguish and frustration are natural when England’s biggest club under-performs and shouldn’t be taken as anything more sinister.
‘There have been times I was disappointed but that’s normal, isn’t it?’ says United’s homegrown hero. ‘We are all players who like to win, that is the reason we play for Man United. We have such high expectations of ourselves and each other. Ask any of us and we’re not happy to lose or even draw.
The United forward has started the season in fine form, scoring five times already
‘I’ve played a lot of games and experienced a lot of different things. At Man United, we expect to win the majority of the matches.’
Rashford is a local lad who came through the ranks like the esteemed Class of 92. Since bursting on to the scene as a teenager, he has become an emblem of the club. He’s also a respected national figure whose work helping children in the pandemic saw him awarded an MBE.
Yet his core job, football, has not gone so well in more recent times. United have had four managers in 11 months — Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick and now Erik ten Hag — and finished a whopping 35 points behind champions City in May.
The team have been both excellent and awful at different times this season and nobody knows which version will turn up on Merseyside tonight… whether it will be the slick and organised United who beat Arsenal and Liverpool or the shoddy ones who shipped four goals at Brentford and collapsed at the Etihad. The striker is confident the general curve is upward under their forthright new Dutch manager Ten Hag.
The home-grown hero has backed the Red Devils to keep on improving under Erik ten Hag
‘I think we are definitely improving though there are obviously things we need to tighten up on and improve,’ he says frankly. ‘The last league game at City wasn’t good enough by anyone’s standards and we felt we let people down. It was a bit embarrassing after the game.
‘But as you know these results can happen in football and the only way to come back from it is to bounce back and win your next game as we did against Omonia Nicosia on Thursday. The manager has a very clear identity and way of playing which I think makes it easier to adapt to him. Even in pre-season I felt that he got his messages across quickly and direct and the players took those messages on board.
‘We are going to keep improving under him. It’s still early days and the more we get to know him, the better we will become and the more he gets to know us as well.’ On a personal level, Rashford’s four goals in three games — including a brace against Arsenal — represent his best run for two years.
Importantly it also suggests he is over the muscular injury that saw him miss five games and England’s final World Cup warm-ups, though Gareth Southgate insists the door is not shut on him for Qatar.
He was awarded the Premier League player of the month for September after his fine start
United are making progress under the Dutch boss, but have been inconsistent this season
‘There is never a good time to get injured,’ reflects the player.
Goodison Park will be an important test. Rashford has been on the winning side there but has not scored himself in six attempts. The unusual kick off time of 7pm has encouraged United to change their normal preparations.
Instead of flying back from Nicosia straight after Thursday’s game, they opted to stay overnight and trained there on Friday. ‘Everton have been playing well. It is going to be tough,’ says Rashford. ‘Yeah, it will be intense, we shouldn’t be surprised by that — we should be ready.
‘I’ve won there, I have also come away disappointed. Mixed emotions but this weekend, hopefully it will be a good performance and a big win.
‘We’ve not spoken as players about the 7pm Sunday start. The manager and staff have obviously thought about the best way to recover and organised it so we could sleep after our last game rather than have a long flight and get back in the early hours.
‘There are a lot of games in a short space of time this month so we expect to be busy. It’s a case of staying as fit as we can.
‘After a game like the City one, it didn’t matter who we played next or where, it was just important to get the win and we did that against Omonia.
‘I thought for the most part we played well with things still to be worked on.
‘It was a good game to get us ready for Everton where we will have to be a lot better on the ball and show a higher intensity.’
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