This is not the first time an under-fire Manchester United player has undergone a personal training routine in an attempt to find some form again.
Harry Maguire, turning down a £30 million move to West Ham in order to fight for his place at Old Trafford, was spotted being put through his paces by Chelsea and Portugal legend Ricardo Carvalho as he prepared for the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
That extra effort certainly did Maguire no harm.
Starting the season without the captain’s armband and having been made available for transfer, Maguire ended it as arguably Manchester United’s most reliable central defender.
In the words of Rio Ferdinand, speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Maguire proved his ‘character’ while responded to his critics in the perfect manner, letting his performances on the pitch do the talking for him.
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Marcus Rashford fighting for Manchester United revival
Whether Marcus Rashford can benefit in a similar fashion, having hired with personal coach Ryan Hopper during the September international break, remains to be seen, per The Sun.
But Erik ten Hag certainly has no complaints about his underperforming Man United stars going that extra mile to try and get their careers back on track.
So long as a few extra sessions do not put them at risk of injury, of course.
“Players have to find a good balance between relaxation and keeping going, keeping in the rhythm you are in. Experienced players, they can manage it by themselves and it’s very good,” Ten Hag tells the official Manchester United website of Rashford, who was left out of the most recent England squad.
“But do the right things. Do the right drills. Do the right (work) load. When they are back, we also train and it has to be combined with our training load, of course.”
Erik ten Hag praises Marcus Rashford
Despite starting all of Man United’s four games thus far in 2024/25, Rashford is yet to find the net.
He also scored only eight times last term, down from a career-high of 30 in Ten Hag’s debut campaign in the Old Trafford dugout.
There has been a few recent signs of progress, however. Rashford was comfortably the biggest threat in a Man United shirt against Liverpool last time out, creating a couple of very good chances which on another day could have sparked a late fightback against Arne Slot’s team.
Speaking to talkSPORT, former Man United midfielder and one-time youth coach Nicky Butt is confident that Rashford can still develop into a truly elite forward providing Ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy and co can find a way to help him escape from that ongoing slump.
“I don’t know and it’s actually sad watching that because I’ve known Marcus since he was probably eight and nine at Man United coming through and he’s always been the one that you hold hope for,” Butt says.
“I do believe and people will be screaming down the phone now probably but I do believe he’s still got the talent to be one of the best top players in the world.
“There’s a lot of talent within that man and he’s a top, top footballer.”
Rashford, fresh after a fortnight off, will be hoping to get back to scoring ways against Russell Martin’s Southampton in Saturday’s early kick-off.
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