Marcus Rashford: 'Reactionary' Manchester United stuck in 'no man's land' | OneFootball

The on-loan Barcelona star has spoken out about the Red Devils in a new interview

Marcus Rashford has described Manchester United as “reactionary”, adding that the club are “stuck in no man’s land” and must “make a plan and stick to it” to have any hope of returning to former glories.

To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it ... this is where I speak about being realistic with what your situation is

Marcus Rashford

“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,” he told the The Rest is Football podcast hosts Gary Lineker - the last English player to sign for Barcelona, before himself - and Micah Richards.

“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.”

United, however, have been too “reactionary” in their approach, Rashford suggested.

“We’re hungry to win, so we’ll always try to adapt and to sign players that fit this system,” he said. “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.”

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The England international added that, having taken a “step back” since last donning a United shirt in December, he has realised the club’s current predicament - being “way below” the level many expect of them, given their history and transfer outlay - can only be expected given the lack of a clear direction at Old Trafford.

“People say we’ve been in a transition for years,” he said. “To be in a transition, you have to start the transition. It’s like the actual transition’s not started yet."

Comparing United’s situation to Liverpool under the Reds’ former manager Jurgen Klopp, Rashford said United’s failures have come about by not making a plan and - crucially - sticking to it.

"When Liverpool went through this, they got Klopp, they stuck with him,” he explained. “They didn’t win in the beginning. People only remember his final few years when he was competing with [Manchester] City and winning the biggest trophies, [but] he didn’t win for three years.

Rashford added: “To start a transition, you have to make a plan and stick to it. 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 no man’s land."

Since Sir Alex left his position as United’s head coach in 2013, the club have employed six different managers - David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Erik ten Hag and now Amorim - along with a smattering of interim and caretaker bosses, including former players Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy.