Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has told Marcus Rashford one simple thing he must change to win back the club’s supporters.
Return
Rashford was finally back in United colours last weekend as United suffered a 4-2 pre-season defeat at the hands of Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan.
The England international spent last season out on loan at Barcelona. He contributed 14 goals and as many assists, helping the Catalan giants retain their La Liga crown. Still, Barcelona opted against exercising the £26m option to make his stay permanent.
The Blaugrana proposed another loan deal but United made it clear there was no room for fresh discussions. Rashford returned to pre-season training and now looks set to feature in Michael Carrick’s plans moving forward.
Carrick recently explained that he is excited about the prospect of working with Rashford again. A recent report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Rashford has impressed in training.
It is undeniable, however, that he has considerable ground to cover in winning back supporters, in light of the contentious circumstances surrounding his loans to both Aston Villa and Barcelona. Rashford’s dedication was repeatedly called into question during the tenures of both Ten Hag and Amorim, with off-field issues proving a persistent concern. Amorim, unwilling to accept such distractions, ultimately banished him from the squad.
But Rooney believes Rashford changing his body language can go a long way in getting back into the good books of fans.
Rooney’s Rashford verdict
United’s record goalscorer said on Stick to United, “It’s such a strange one with Marcus. We know he’s got the ability, he’s shown that, but has he got the hunger? Does he want to play for Manchester United?”
“I’ve been there, in 2010, when I asked to leave the football club. Then I stayed. You have to rebuild the relationship with the fans and the easiest way to do that is work hard and work on your body language.”
“You could have a bad game, you could give the ball away and make mistakes, but if the fans see you working hard and putting in a shift for the team, they’ll accept that to a certain point. I think Marcus’ body language, even when he came on, it isn’t great. He might have to work with someone to make his body language look better.”
Rooney continued, “I think his work rate has to improve. If he wants to be at the football club, he just has to knuckle down […] He’s the one player that could go and get my goalscoring record.”
“I don’t want to see Marcus Rashford doing well at Aston Villa or doing well at Barcelona. I want to see him doing well at Man United and scoring goals for Man United. But that means he has to get his head down and work his socks off. Be more positive. Play with a smile on his face.”
“If he [Rashford] is back playing for United and he wants to be here, I think he has to have a real close look at who’s around him. Only he can say who those people are around him who he really trusts. Keep them close to him, go into training and work hard, get himself right. If he does that, he’ll be fine.”
“He has to change his body language, whether he likes it or not, to get fans back onside. It’s on him and no one else. He has take responsibility if he’s here because, if not, the fans will turn very quickly.”
Asked whether Rashford can turn things around, Rooney indicated that he is not convinced but certainly hopes to be proven wrong.
Feature image Juan Manuel Serrano Arce via Getty Images
