Ten Hag confident Rashford on his way back to best after lifestyle change

Erik ten Hag believes that Marcus Rashford is returning to his best form after taking control of his “lifestyle”.

Rashford struggled for form last season, netting just seven goals in the Premier League as Manchester United limped to an eighth-place finish – their worst result in the competition’s history.

He was also dropped for United’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Newport County in January as a disciplinary measure after going to Belfast without permission.

That followed a stellar campaign in Ten Hag’s first season in charge, in which he scored 30 goals in all competitions in 2022-23.

However, Ten Hag believes that Rashford has made necessary changes, and expects more positive results to come from it.

“I think he is on the way back,” said Ten Hag.

“He always knew, and every player knows, when your lifestyle is not right, you can’t perform. You don’t get the right levels when you don’t have a good and disciplined life away from [United’s training ground] Carrington.

“He needed some help, by backing him, for instance. But he has to do it himself, at the end of the day.

“He has to set his life right, his training attitude right, he has to set his match attitude right. When he sets his professionalism, he will perform because he’s a class player.”

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Rashford made a slow start to the campaign, failing to have a shot in United’s first three Premier League games, but netted his first goal of the season against Southampton in a 3-0 win last weekend.

In midweek, he then netted a brace and registered an assist as the Red Devils thrashed Barnsley 7-0 in the EFL Cup third round.

“Every player in the Premier League, in this club, knows you need resilience,” Ten Hag added.

“Not any football career has only ups, it also has downs. You have to deal with that. Rashford is experienced, he knows this.

“He knows when there are setbacks, how to fight back and set his career and performance. He took control of that, he’s on the way back. He started the season very well, now he has to continue and progress.

“It’s very good when your strikers start to score early in the season, they need that belief. Now we have a couple of players who have been scoring, and it’s good for the team.”