Marcus Rashford – Manchester United must follow Liverpool example to escape ‘permanent transition’ | OneFootball

Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford has given an extensive interview, explaining in his view why the glory years of Manchester United remain firmly in the rearview mirror. Rashford is still contracted to United, but has spent the last six months on loan at Aston Villa, before joining Barcelona on loan for this year.

Rashford spoke at length with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards in an interview for The Rest is Football, touching on a number of topics, including his adaptation to life at Barcelona, and his positioning. Perhaps the topic that will grab the most headlines was his assessment of United’s current state though.

Rashford picks out most influential managers

The England international was asked which of his managers had had the most impact on him. Rashford has had eight managers during his time at the club, and selected the first three that he had.

“The most influential managers on me have probably been [Louis] van Gaal, Jose [Mourinho] and Ole [Gunnar Solksjaer]. It’s difficult to compare, but they are obviously the managers I had while I was developing, so they have a bigger impact. Like van Gaal, wanted you to play well. Before Jose, I had never had a manager so fixated on winning. If he could choose, he wanted to play well, but he didn’t care if you won. That’s all that mattered.”

Something that he struggled with initially.

“He had that attitude, and it was confusing for me, because in the academy, even if I’d won, if we hadn’t played well, I was angry about the stuff that was missing. Jose didn’t bring up those points if you won, whereas if you lost, he’d bring them up then. After like six months, I learnt to respect it, and reap the rewards from him as a coach.”

Manchester United approach is ‘reactionary’

Having joined a club with a strong tradition of producing players ready for the first team, Rashford lamented the fact that this was no longer the case at Old Trafford.

“Under Fergie, the system was the same for the whole academy, so you could pick players from 15 onwards. Whereas if you’re changing all the time, it’s different. It’s reactionary. You can’t expect to be able to win.”

Image via Marc Graupera

“You might win a cup tournament, because you have a good coach, good players and a good team. It’s not an accident. But when I take a step back and think about it, with regard to where people want United to be, what do you expect?”

United should follow Liverpool example

In his eyes, United have been stuck in a holding pattern, something that Liverpool have navigated their way out of, while the Red Devils could not adapt to the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

“People say we’ve been in a transition for years, but in order to be in a transition, you have to actually start it. The transition hasn’t started. When Liverpool got Klopp, they stuck with him. They didn’t win in the beginning. But nobody remembers that. But you have to make a plan and stick with it.”

“We’ve had so many managers, that you just end up nowhere, in no-man’s land. 100% [it hurts], not just as a player, but as a United fan.”

Rashford could make his debut for Barcelona on Saturday night at 19:30 CEST as they travel to RCD Mallorca. However Barcelona are still struggling to register their new loan star in time for that game, with the clock ticking.