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Ex-Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has claimed that Erik ten Hag is not helping Marcus Rashford hit his best form at Manchester United.
The 26-year-old has not reached the heights of the previous season, when he led the team to victory in the Carabao Cup and third-place finish in the Premier League while scoring 30 goals in all competitions. This season, Rashford has only managed six goals, and the team as a whole has struggled with inconsistency in creating chances while also struggling to maintain discipline in midfield and defence.
The former Manchester City defender defended the English winger when speaking to TNT Sports: “To have a consistent level of confidence is hard, you have to perform at a consistent level all the time,” Lescott said. “But for me, confidence always comes from the work you do away from the lights. Also, moments like [the derby goal] will do that.
“As strong and decisive as he can be, he played against arguably the best full-back in Premier League history so can the manager take that away from him and say your strengths are your strengths but your strengths aren’t as good as Kyle Walker’s strengths for today, because of the confidence.
“So maybe I need to play you on the right wing or a centre-forward and explain that to him. You can be our match-winner but you’re less likely to do so from the left wing even though that’s your favourite position. Your better outcome today may be as a striker due to the way City have been playing and the goals they’ve been conceding.
“There’s other ways for Marcus Rashford to be effective and I don’t think the manager is helping him in that aspect. There is responsibility on Marcus Rashford, he has to take accountability and I think he’s doing that, but I still believe he’s their best player.”
Later on in the same interview, Lescott also claimed that in his opinion, Rashford is the only Man Utd player who would be capable of breaking into their neighbours’ team. He said: “I think he’s the only player who plays for Man City.
“If Pep has Marcus Rashford, he’s 100% a better player and I’m not solely blaming Ten Hag but he has a better impact on the game [if he is] at City. The system would allow him to produce moments that he’s comfortable in. How many times are you getting him one-on-one in the final third? But how many times was [Jeremy] Doku one-on-one? It’s because the system allows him to be in positions that you are good at.
“If that’s Marcus Rashford getting the ball up to nine times a half and all he has to do is run at the full-back, he’s more confident from that alone. He doesn’t have to worry about tracking back and tucking in.”\
It is unlikely that the quick attacker will make a move away from Old Trafford at least for the moment. However, one respite for him could be if Ten Hag is sacked by the new ownership of the club in favour of a new coach. Nonetheless, Rashford will continue his actions on the field when they take on Everton on Saturday, March 9.
