Former Arsenal forward and England international Paul Merson believes Marcus Rashford’s confidence is shot but he expects the Manchester United star to bounce back.
Rashford feels Erik ten Hag’s man-management will help him in the long run following talks with Donny van de Beek and Daley Blind about the former Ajax manager, as per Goal, but only time will tell because we shouldn’t forget that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was credited with having good man-management skills.
That said, things only got worse for Rashford after Ralf Rangnick arrived as interim manager.
First-team prospect Anthony Elanga took his place, but I think Ten Hag will want to work at solving Rashford’s confidence problems – rather than push them to one side. As a temporary manager, Rangnick wasn’t worried about United’s long-term vision and Rashford suffered as a result of that.
Even as one of his biggest fans, it has been worrying to see Rashford’s career stall over the past 18 months. You could question the coaching standards with a number of players, like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has hardly developed his game since joining United from Crystal Palace in 2019.
Next season will be a big one for Rashford – to prove his doubters wrong. It would be a shame from United’s perspective to waste a player who had so much potential.
Speaking about the importance of next season for Rashford, Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star: “Marcus Rashford needs to turn up this season for Manchester United.
“Everything has been plain sailing for him up until recently but his confidence has gone and it’s been hard for him. I’d like to think he’ll be back next season but if he can’t get his confidence back then you start worrying.
“All the work he did for good causes off the pitch probably took a toll on him mentally as well. But I’d expect him to bounce back.
“The new manager might suit him. I’m sure Erik ten Hag wants to play a certain way. He’ll wanted United to play like Ajax. To press and move the ball quickly.
“But it’s going to be hard for a team with Cristiano Ronaldo in it to be a high-intensity pressing team. He’s not going to be chasing down every ball is he?”
Do you think Rashford will bounce back next season? We certainly hope so.
