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WHAT HAPPENED?
Rashford has had another poor start to the season after a hugely disappointing 2023-24 campaign, having scored just one goal in the Premier League so far. He was the first player to be substituted during United’s 3-0 win over Leicester and has often cut a frustrated figure. And former Manchester United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen has urged the striker to up his game under new boss Amorim.
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Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Rashford’s popularity among United fans has dropped considerably in the last year due to his dip in form and questions about his attitude after he missed training after a drunken night out in Belfast. And supporters were up in arms last week when he flew to the United States during the international break to attend a basketball game.
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Meulensteen believes Rashford needs to find new ways to motivate himself so he can kickstart his flagging career under Amorim. “It’s up to both the player and the manager but predominantly Rashford, he’s on huge money but sometimes that isn’t enough motivation,” he added. “When I was working at United, the big intrinsic motivation was one, to play for Manchester United and number two, to be successful at Manchester United. It was all about winning. It’s all about winning games, all about winning trophies and that motivation, it comes from within. That is already a coping mechanism to deal with when things are not going that well. Rashford isn’t a young player anymore and he has to live up to expectations and find that desire and passion to play for United again, or he’ll have a problem and might be looking for a new club.”
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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD?
The striker has been training under Amorim and he will hope to be named in the Portuguese’s first starting line-up when the Red Devils visit Ipswich Town on Sunday. There have been suggestions that he could be used as a centre-forward rather than a winger in the coach’s 3-4-3 formation, although he will face competition from Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
