After the forward reached a century of goals for the club, Jamie Redknapp stated that it would be "a crime" for Manchester United to not get the best out of Marcus Rashford and that it would be "a crime" for the club to not get the best out of Rashford.
Rashford scored his 100th goal for the Reds in Sunday's game against West Ham at Old Trafford, which resulted in a 1-0 victory for Erik ten Hag's team. As a result of United keeping a clean sheet in the Premier League for the fifth time this season, the team extended its current winning streak across all competitions to eight games.
Rashford, who turned 25 on Monday, scored in consecutive games for the first time since January. He did so by getting on the end of a magnificent Christian Eriksen cross to the back post and heading the ball past an oblivious Lukasz Fabianski. Rashford's birthday was on Monday. However, it has not always been smooth sailing for the United forward, as he revealed that the pressure of becoming the 22nd player to reach the milestone of a hundred goals was taking its toll on him. He said that it was taking its toll on him.
Rashford told Sky Sports, "I've been waiting for it to come and thankfully it did." He went on to say that it had been on his mind for the previous couple of games.
I was struggling at times with more mental things. It wasn't really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That's the biggest difference from last season. Too often last season, I wasn't in the right headspace for games. I wasn't surprised by some of the stuff that was happening. "It's a completely different energy around the club and the training ground." "That puts me in a better headspace and I just feel really motivated now."
Redknapp found it refreshing to hear Rashford's honesty, and he admitted that he was shocked to hear the goalscorer open up about his situation. Redknapp also cautioned Ten Hag that United needs to figure out a way to get the most out of him moving forward. Rashford's honesty was refreshing to Redknapp.
"I wasn't mentally right,' – how often do you actually hear a player say something like that?
" Redknapp said. "We anticipate that they will come into the game with their mental game in order. It was clear that he was not in the right frame of mind.
"If you consider all of his qualities, you will see that he possesses everything. It is a travesty if Manchester United is unable to coax the best performance out of this player given his ability to leap, run with the ball, possess a fierce shot, and take free kicks. He is a multi-talented athlete. I am aware that you are required to complete it on your own, but you should investigate the possibility of having another person complete it for you. He does not lack for anything. He is versatile enough to play off either side.
"At the time that I had the impression that he might leave the club, he would have moved on to another organization, flourished there, and become an absolute superstar there. However, it appears that Manchester United will be able to coax that out of him.
