Marcus Rashford urges Man Utd to copy Liverpool strategy

Marcus Rashford says Manchester United have been stuck ‘in no man’s land’ (The Rest Is Football)

Marcus Rashford has criticised Manchester United’s lack of direction since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and believes the club can learn from Liverpool’s rebuild under Jurgen Klopp.

The 27-year-old joined Barcelona on loan this summer after being frozen out of United’s first-team squad by Ruben Amorim last season.

Rashford has won five trophies with United since making his first-team breakthrough in 2016 but the club have struggled to re-establish themselves as credible Premier League title challengers since Ferguson’s departure in 2013.

The England international believes United’s lack of cohesion throughout the club over the last decade has been a key reason behind the team’s lack of success and feels Liverpool’s decision to stick with Klopp, who won seven trophies in nine years at Anfield, should be the blueprint to follow.

‘Show me a successful team that just adapts,’ Rashford said on The Rest Is Football Podcast.

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‘When Fergie was in charge, not only the principles for the first team – the whole academy set up so you could pick players from 15 years and over – that’s a full generation. And they’d all understand the principles of playing the Man United way, right?

Marcus Rashford insists Manchester United’s transition is yet to start under Ruben Amorim (Getty)

‘You see it with any team that’s been successful over a period of time – they have principles that any coach that comes in, any player that comes in, has to align to these principles or be able to add to these principles.

‘Whereas at times I feel like United have just been… we’re hungry to win, so we’ll always try to adapt and to sign players that fit this system. But it’s reactionary.

‘If your direction’s always changing, you can’t expect to be able to win the league. Yeah, you might win some cup tournaments, but it’s because you do have a good coach and you do have good players and you have match winners in your team – you’re not there by accident.

Marcus Rashford has commended Liverpool for sticking with Jurgen Klopp (Getty)

‘This is what some people forget. So yeah, we’ve been way below where we deem United to be. But then if you take a step back, which I’ve been able to do, especially over the last six months – what do you expect?

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‘People say we’ve been in a transition for years. To be in a transition, you have to start the transition. So it’s like the actual transition’s not started yet.

‘When Liverpool went through this, they got Klopp, they stuck with him. They didn’t win in the beginning. People only remember his final few years when he was competing with City and winning the biggest trophies – he certainly didn’t win for three years.

‘To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. So this is the thing that I feel – it’s not easy. Because if it’s not going well, the fans demand [change]. But this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is.

‘I feel like we’ve had that many different managers and different ideas and different strategies in order to win… you end up in the middle of – you end up in no man’s land.’

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