Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has urged Marcus Rashford to ‘speak with his feet’ after his omission from the England squad for Euro 2024.
Rashford was a surprise exclusion from Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for this summer’s tournament, having been a regular in recent England squads.
The 26-year-old has endured a difficult campaign with just eight goals in all competitions and Southgate said his decision was based on form.
Rashford has the chance to bounce back from that disappointment when Manchester United take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final this weekend.
Ahead of the game, Ten Hag backed the forward to respond and urged Rashford to ‘speak with his feet’.
“That is your career – ups and downs. A down can give you fuel and that’s what I see in training,” Ten Hag said at his pre-match press conference.
“He is highly motivated. Speak with your feet, highly intelligent, he has had a big career, I’m sure he will get over this and get more goals.”
Manchester United face Manchester City in the FA Cup final for the second successive season, following a 2-1 defeat to the Citizens in 2022-23. Ten Hag hopes his side can avenge that loss and believes United play their ‘best football’ against the top teams.
“The FA Cup final, it’s a big event and we are there. Even in a season that is not in our way, we are there. We know we have an opportunity. It won’t be easy but we must go for it. We have to believe it. We know often against good opposition we play our best football and that must be the same on Saturday.”
Ten Hag’s position as manager has been in placed in doubt following a challenging season and the club’s lowest league finish of the Premier League era, but the Dutchman refused to comment on whether this weekend’s final could be his last game in charge.
“I have nothing to say, I just focus on the job I have to do and that is win the game on Saturday and then we are in the project and keep going in the project.
“I came here to win trophies. Saturday I have the opportunity to achieve this and we earned this opportunity as a team. We have to go for it. After every season you review it and see where you are in the project and what things may need to change. We spoke lately about it. There are players coming up, players developing, values going up. We have a big opportunity on Saturday to win a trophy.”
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