Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has issued a staunch defence of Erik ten Hag’s treatment towards Marcus Rashford and hopes the Manchester United forward has had a ‘wake-up call’ to kick-start his career again.
Rashford recently received a slap on the wrist for an ill-advised night out in Belfast which resulted in missing training ahead of United’s FA Cup win over Newport County.
It was later decided that he would be fined two-weeks wages (£650,000) after he was left out of the squad that won against Newport. That apparent illness must have been one of those bugs that stays in the system for a few days.
Ten Hag drew a line in the sand early and said the matter was an internal one. Rashford returned to the line-up to face Wolves, scoring the opener after 5 minutes in a dramatic 4-3 victory at Molineux.
Solskajer, who is in India meeting United fans and members of the media, has now spoken about Rashford’s situation as one of his former managers.
The former United boss told India Today in Bengaluru that he hoped Rashford had learned a lesson and turned a corner in the wake of his off-field antics.
“Obviously I managed Marcus for three years and I know him,” Solskjaer said.
“It’s not my job to go out and discuss his performances, but last season he was fantastic and it’s about consistency in football.
“Marcus and many others haven’t hit the heights this season.”
The Norwegian, who recently admitted that he misses football management, added: “I’m sure he had a wake-up call last week and hopefully that will spur him on.
“Is it the manager’s job to get the best out of him, or is it mostly himself or any player’s responsibility to get the best out of yourself? I think that’s more it.”
Solskjaer now wants Rashford to kick on and add more consistency to his game. He knows as someone that won it all as a player at United that it takes sacrifices.
“He’s had a fantastic career, some ups and downs,” he went on.
“Now we hope he’s going to hit that consistency, because I know and we all know there’s a top player there. It’s difficult to be at the top all the time, but it takes sacrifice.”
Hopefully we can get over this episode and Rashford can continue scoring goals and adding to his season tally. He scored 30 last season and we all want to see him back playing at those incredible levels.
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