Marcus Rashford has described Manchester United as “reactionary” and being in “no man’s land” – and has called on his club to “make a plan and stick to it.”
Rashford departed United to join Barcelona on loan for the upcoming season after a similar, successful spell at Aston Villa for the second half of last season. This was after the forward had been frozen out of United’s first-team by Ruben Amorim.
And now, Rashford has hit out at the club’s strategy in recent years – saying the club have not begun a transition yet because they do not have a recognisable style of play throughout the club.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Sky Sports’ Micah Richards, Rashford said: “You see it with any team that’s been successful over a period of time: they have principles that any coach that comes in, any player that comes in, has to align to these principles or be able to add to these principles.
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Watch the best bits from Marcus Rashford’s Barcelona press conference as he joins on loan from Manchester United
“Whereas at times I feel like United have just been: we’re hungry to win, so we’ll always try to adapt and to sign players that fit this system. But it’s reactionary.
“If your direction’s always changing, you can’t expect to be able to win the league. Yeah, you might win some cup tournaments, but it’s because you do have a good coach and you do have good players and you have match winners in your team – you’re not there by accident.
“We’ve been way below where we deem United to be. But then if you take a step back, which I’ve been able to do, especially over the last six months – what do you expect?
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Speaking on the Football Museum podcast, former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker shares his optimism for Marcus Rashford’s proposed move to the Catalan giants as he looks to rekindle his form
“People say we’ve been in a transition for years. To be in a transition, you have to start the transition. So it’s like the actual transition’s not started yet.
“To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. So this is the thing that I feel – it’s not easy. Because if it’s not going well, the fans demand [change].
“But this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is. I feel like we’ve had that many different managers and different ideas and different strategies in order to win … you end up in the middle of – you end up in no man’s land.”
Rashford on Mourinho’s management style
Rashford also spoke about Jose Mourinho’s management skills
Rashford also discussed which managers have been the most influential in his career – citing Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as inspirations – but he left out Amorim and his predecessor Erik ten Hag.
The forward also went into detail about Mourinho’s desire to win at United – irrespective of how well you played.
“They’re different but because we’ve had so many different managers, it’s impossible for me to compare [them],” added Rashford.
“Up until Jose, I never had a manager who was so fixated on winning. Van Gaal was fixated on winning but he wanted to play a beautiful style of football. Jose didn’t care.
“Of course, if he could choose, he would want you to play well, but if you win, you win and move onto the next game. He had this attitude.
“And it was confusing for me as all the way through my development at United, it was about playing a certain style and winning in a certain way.
“And in the beginning I was angry all the time – because we had not played well and we won. But because we won and he is a manager who is just a winner, he didn’t bring up the points that you know were missing from that last game. Because we’ve won.
“But when we lost, he would bring up the points then. After six months, I learned to respect it and reap the rewards from him as a coach.”
Rashford on England and the importance of his Villa loan
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We take a look at Marcus Rashford’s greatest goals for Manchester United in the Premier League
Rashford also discussed the importance of the move to Barcelona on his chances of making England’s World Cup squad next summer.
The 27-year-old was named in new head coach Thomas Tuchel’s first Three Lions squad back in March – but missed the June camp due to injury.
“I try not to put too much pressure on the England set-up,” said the Barcelona forward. “It’s clearly something I want to do.
“But you don’t get that without putting in the hard work just day in, day out. And showing the hard work on the pitch. That’s a knock-on effect to the stuff I’ll be doing day in, day out.
“This current group of English players is extremely talented, it’s going to be disappointing if we don’t manage to go on and do something really special because I think we’ve come on a lot. For the last few years, it’s been: the next step is to go on and win.”
Rashford also paid tribute to his former club Villa – saying the brief spell at Unai Emery’s side went “exactly how it was supposed to be” after struggling at United.
“The timing of me going to Villa, now looking back, it was the exact time for me to do something like that,” he said. “The response and reaction of what I got from the people at the club and the fans, it was what I needed in that moment.
“Six months on, I feel like everything is completely different. Everything I did at Villa, apart from the injury at the end, was exactly how it was supposed to be. The club’s on the up so the atmosphere at the club in that dressing room was positive.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from this season
From this season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season will be on Sky Sports.
