Marcus Rashford has explained the genius of Erik ten Hag, highlighting the Dutchman's mentality and how he implemented it at Manchester United from his first day at the club.
Taking over at Manchester United in July 2022, Ten Hag was tasked with providing the club with optimism once again after a dreadful campaign which saw them finish 6th in the Premier League and trophy-less.
He'd have been forgiven for setting what seemed like more realistic targets off the back of that campaign, but, as Rashford describes, Ten Hag wanted nothing but the best.
How Andre Onana Would TRANSFORM Man United
“When Erik ten Hag came in, I didn’t hear him speak about getting into the top four once, he just wanted to win trophies and he’s got that mentality," Rashford said on The Overlap. "It didn’t matter what competition we were playing in, he wanted to try and win everything.
“We gave it everything and let ourselves down in the Europa League, and in the Premier League there was a period where we weren’t defending as well and stopped scoring as many goals as we were – that’s something he’ll want to address."
Rashford also believes Ten Hag has created a togetherness among the players, something that has really benefited performances on the pitch.
“It’s not just the players that are playing every week, it’s the squad – Erik really concentrated on making everyone together as one, when he came in," Rashford said.
"It’s impossible for everyone to play every game but as a player you have to accept and support when you’re not playing, and when you are playing, you have to give everything.”
Of course, not everything went well. United lost 6-3 to Manchester City and 7-0 to Liverpool, most notably. Ten Hag didn't dwell on those defeats, though, instead giving his players a much-needed boost ahead of their next game.
“Sometimes as players, you don’t want to watch [poor matches], but his [Erik ten Hag’s] understanding of players is very high. I don’t want to watch any bad games back – what’s the point? There’s nothing you can take from that, but the next game is important to clear your head because you can’t let that blow.
“Especially after the Liverpool game, we had Real Sociedad at home in the next game – we had a great performance and won 4-1. It’s not easy to recover, but he would always give us confidence again and remind us that we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t good players.
"I’m not one to need that all the time, but there are times after games like that where you need a reminder – he always gives us that full confidence and support."
Marcus Rashford was speaking on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet.
More Manchester United stories
Manchester United transfer news is starting to come thick and fast.
The Manchester United season preview looks at why the Red Devils can start to dream of winning the Premier League title again, while all other 91 clubs in the top four tiers of English football are looked at, too.
Meanwhile, David Beckham has claimed the Glazers now need to leave.
