Rangnick ponders what to do next with lost soul Rashford

No 'big' football club has ever been in more dire need of an inspirational new manager than the current Manchester United, illustrated most clearly by Marcus Rashford's situation

Sun, 03 Apr, 2022 - 22:30

Ian Whittell

NO “big” football club has ever been in more dire need of an inspirational new manager and leader than the current Manchester United but one thing Saturday’s turgid draw with Leicester underlined is how desperate the situation has become for Marcus Rashford, above all others.

While his international team mates jetted around the world in the previous two and a half weeks, the out-of-form United forward remained at home, resting, training and trying to recover from an increasingly disastrous campaign, personally and collectively.

Yet, when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Edinson Cavan in pulling out of this fixture on Friday, leaving interim manager Ralf Rangnick without a recognised forward in his squad, Rashford was still unable to force his way into the starting line-up.

By the time Rashford was called upon, on the hour, the pattern for yet another disappointing United performance had been set and it came as no surprise that the 24-year-old was unable to make an impression on proceedings.

“Marcus, it’s no secret that he is not having his best time right now, it has to do with rhythm and confidence as well,” said Rangnick.

“Again it’s our job to help him to get this confidence back and that is why I decided to bring him on.

“In the end he has to do it himself obviously but the only thing we can do is speak to him regularly and tell him what we expect from him and what he should do. The rest has to be done by himself.

“There are quite a few examples this season of players, some of them are still here with us and one or two of them are no longer here have shown that it is possible to develop within a couple of weeks a level of confidence where you can be a different player again.

“We all know that Marcus can play better, but, again, in the end the steps he has to take himself.”

It could be argued that Rangnick’s mantra of “it’s up to the player to do it” is grounded in common sense and logic but, also, the point has to be made that elite coaches are supposed to tease the best out of their charges - not simply tell them to sort themselves out.

And not surprisingly, in the context of what is going to be Rashford’s worst season since he broke into the United first team in early 2016, numerous reports have surfaced suggesting that the forward sees his future lying away from Old Trafford this summer.

He could hardly be criticised if he has reached that conclusion although, publicly and privately, Rashford and his camp have denied all claims that he wants to leave the club he has called home since the age of seven.

Logic suggests that Rashford is perhaps waiting to see who the club’s new, permanent manager will be before taking such a drastic decision and Ajax coach Erik ten Hag appears to be running away from Mauricio Pochettino in the race for that potentially poisoned chalice.

But, with every passing week, the enormity of the task facing Rangnick’s eventual successor is becoming more apparent - as it was here when only a VAR decision stood between United and another defeat.

James Maddison’s 79th minute 'winner' may have been ruled out for a foul but, after taking the lead through Kelechi Iheancho only to see the goal equalised by Fred, Leicester could count themselves unfortunate not to have taken all three points.

It was another performance that had fans and pundits questioning United’s character and spirit and, although he rejected those critiques, even Rangnick was forced to admit there was one quality glaringly absent in his team.

“I never doubt or question the character of players and so far from what I have seen in the last couple of weeks and months I don’t think we have a lack of character,” he said.

“But what was obvious in some parts of the game today is that we were second best with regards to physicality, it was about one on one duels.

“We spoke about that counter-attacking moment we had ourselves where they tackled us away twice within two seconds for their goal and the same is true in quite a few other moments.

“So whenever there was body contact we were too often second best today and that is something we have to get better at for the rest of this season but even more so for next season.

“Leicester were aggressive and physical in many parts of the game. We had problems with them. it is as it is and it is difficult to change. I do not think it is to do with mindset, it is to do with the DNA of players.”

Whether Rashford, and several other current players, are still around to take part in the coming rebuild remains to be seen although Rangnick at least sounded one note of cautious optimism about the process facing the new manager.

All too often, the German coach points to the length of time that Liverpool and Manchester City have been building to their current levels of excellence as a reason for patience. Now, on Saturday, Rangnick suggested the fix for United, while not exactly quick, may not take a decade to achieve.

“It takes right decisions and where you want to go to, what kind of players, what kind of manager, and then in every transfer windiow try to get the best possible,” he explained.

“This is possible. This is not rocket science. It has to be done and if that happens it does not necessarily need three or four years, maybe two or three transfer windows, then the situation could be different.”

MAN UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7; Dalot 6, Varane 6, Maguire 6, Shaw 5 (Telles 45, 5); Fred 8, McTominay 6 (Rashford 54, 6); Sancho 6, Pogba 6 (Matic 74, 6), Elanga 7; Fernandes 7.

Subs not used: Lindelof, Jones, Mata, Lingard, Henderson, Wan-Bissaka.

LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 6; Justin 6, Evans 6 (Amertey 65, 6), Fofana 7, Castagne 6; Tielemans 7, Mendy 6 (Choudhury 90); Maddison 9, Dewsbury-Hall 7, Barnes 7; Iheanacho 7 (Daka 90).

Subs not used: Soyuncu, Albrighton, Perez, Amertey, Pereira, Jakupovic, Lookman.

Referee: A Marriner 6