Rashford reveals his targets for 2021

Despite the difficulties of 2020 for the world as a whole, the homegrown hero has enjoyed a memorable year, on and off the pitch.

Away from the action he has spearheaded his now famous campaign to provide school meals for children and has been recognised by the country for his incredible commitment and efforts to help others in the form of an MBE. On the field, he has continued to shine for the Reds and his strike in the Boxing Day draw at Leicester marked his 50^th Premier League goal and 80^th for the club so far.

Rashford followed that up by scoring a late winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek and he is determined to sustain his fine run of form. And with the knock-on effect that COVID-19 is still having on football, the 23-year-old says anything is possible if you can keep finding a way to win.

“This season with what’s been going on and the way the season has started and players being out with COVID, when one player goes out with it, it affects the team and it’s difficult to find consistency and I think that’s what teams have been struggling with and that leads to results being up and down,” he explained in an interview with Stewart Gardner.

“I expect that to happen throughout the season so the only thing we can do is concentrate on ourselves and give ourselves the best chance of winning three points. To be fair we’ve done that. The beginning of the season wasn’t the best for us, especially at home, but we’ve found a way to get back on track and probably when it was the most difficult period for us we came out of it in a good way and stuck together as a team. As long as we keep doing that and do as well as we can on the pitch we can’t ask for anything more.

“My main aim is to help the team and, as a forward, it’s goals and assists that do that so the more of them I can get is the best for the team,” he added. “That’s what I’m concentrating on doing and ultimately that’s what is going to help the team pick up points and if we have three or four of us that are playing in that way and trying to help each other score, then we can have big possibilities this season.”

Rashford reflected on the progress made by the side this calendar year with a Champions League place and three semi-final places secured during 2019/20. There is another semi-final clash to come next week, against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, and Marcus insists the Reds must go on and build fully on the big steps that have been taken in the last 12 months especially.

“The platform has been there for a while and in this last year we’ve taken greater steps forward which is obviously a positive for us,” he declared. “We missed out on winning some trophies, losing in the semi-finals and that’s what we need to correct in the coming year and make sure we get over the line and win trophies.

“That’s the next thing for us to do as a team then it’s about doing it consistently and being able to repeat it back-to-back which is more difficult than getting it the first time. We’ve still got a long journey ahead of us, but at the moment we’re in a good place and we’re concentrating on ourselves and our team and just trying to improve ourselves in each game.”

One other important thing he is hoping to see in 2021 is the return of fans and full stadiums once again.

“It always will be strange [without them]. A lot of things we expect from football is what we see when we’re growing up and fans are a huge part of that,” he added.

“Whilst we’re playing these games it feels like something is missing, but at the same time we have to be as focused and as concentrated as we can because each game is still worth three points and that’s what matters to the team.”