Erik ten Hag was further pressed on Marcus Rashford’s form amidst a turbulent season for the forward.
Having entered 2023/2024 on the back of a career-best, 30-goal campaign, the expectation was that Rashford would continue to be United’s prolific talisman this term.
However, such remarkable form has proven incredibly hard to replicate for the 26-year-old this time around and now, with just four weeks of the season remaining, he has merely eight goals to his name in 40 appearances.
Ten Hag has frequently affirmed his faith in his No.10 throughout the past eight months, and in line with that, Rashford has been a mainstay in the starting 11.
While his manager has had his back, Rashford has come under fire from supporters on numerous occasions for his efforts, whether that be because of major chances going astray or what’s been deemed as poor body language on the pitch.
The England international shared a message this morning on Twitter (X) to hit out at continued abuse from critics, adding that ‘enough is enough’. Truthfully, you’d struggle to deny that some of the comments from so-called fans haven’t crossed a line at times.
Ten Hag retains full confidence in Rashford
In his pre-Burnley press conference on Friday, Ten Hag told reporters (via MUTV): “He knows, I know. It has to do with himself but also to do, of course, with the team and in the first season and a half we had problems.
“I think Marcus Rashford is capable every season of scoring 25 to 35 goals. He has the assets to do that. I am 100 per cent confident of this.
“When he is not doing the right stuff out of possession, I will confront him with this. Yeah, I will give arguments, and also, we use data. I think that [topic] is an internal matter.”
He added: “For Rashy, I know he is very comfortable when Luke Shaw has his back because that’s a very good partnership.”
As we’re all well aware, Shaw has endured yet another injury-stricken season at Old Trafford. His absence has been sorely felt and often reflected in the results.
He is, however, expected to return to team training next week, so there are hopes that he can play a key role in the final fixtures before the summer.
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