Rashford: We've taken great steps forward
Marcus Rashford says Manchester United are going in the right direction, but ‘still have many more steps to take’ under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 23-year-old recently made his 250th appearance for the club – a remarkable number given his age and the fact he only made his debut in February 2016.
As part of a wider-reaching interview about his first five years as a first-team player, which you can read in full in the Newcastle edition of United Review, Rashford was asked how he felt about the season so far, with the side placed second in the Premier League and also pursuing silverware in the Emirates FA Cup and Europa League.
And while the forward sees tangible progress, he doesn’t think there can be any let-up if we are to achieve our goals.
“I think we’ve definitely progressed, if we look back to the team when Ole first took over as manager and how we were performing,” Rashford told us.
“Even when we were winning games back then, it probably wasn’t the way that we’d all wanted to win the game.
“We’ve taken great steps forward, but the message remains the same. We’ve still got many more steps to take in the right direction.
“Everyone is concentrating on that and, ultimately, we want to start winning big trophies and winning big games, more than what we’ve done.”
Rashford moved on to 17 goals and 10 assists for the campaign on Thursday, as he played a key role in United’s scintillating dismantling of Real Sociedad in Turin.
It was the latest in a series of impressive away performances from the 23-year-old in 2020/21 – 16 of Marcus’s 27 goal involvements have come on the road.
Included in those figures are the three – one goal and two assist – he managed at St James’ Park in October, as the Reds came from behind to defeat Sunday’s opposition Newcastle 4-1.
“It was a good game but the most pleasing thing was that everyone forgets that we went a goal down in the first 30 seconds or something,” Rashford remembered about that night.
“We had to show that we’re strong and relentless to come back at a difficult place to play football, really.
“We expect it’s going to be a tough game [on Sunday] and hopefully we can find a way to win the game and get the three points.”
90 in 20: Newcastle 1 United 4
Want more action? The extended highlights of our thrilling win at St James’ Park are available now…
The Magpies sit 17th in the Premier League table, still six points clear of the relegation zone but having won just two of their last 13 games, although that pair of victories, over Everton and Southampton, have arrived since 30 January.
But Marcus is taking nothing for granted ahead of the meeting with the north-east outfit, who have taken the lead against United in each of the last three iterations of this fixture.
“There are no weak teams in the Premier League,” our no.10 insisted.
Highlights: Real Sociedad 0 United 4
It was a four-midable display from the Reds in the first leg of our last-32 Europa League tie...
“There are teams that go through spells, like everyone does, where they have a dip in form or they’re not quite picking up results but they’re playing good football.
“I’ve just learned that, in this league, you never expect an easy ride or an easy game.
“You’ve got to prepare as well as you can prepare and be as focused as you can for each game.”