Rashford

In 2019, we sat down with Marcus Rashford for an interview about all-things Academy, as we prepared to celebrate 4,000 consecutive games with a homegrown ...

If you just fall short of being a United player, there are a lot of examples of playing in the Premier League, or in the Championship, or abroad. The other two are just what I’ve known from being in the Academy and they’re the two things – being disciplined and focusing on your future – other than your talent that will get you into the first team." You have to enjoy training, enjoy the games and enjoy things that have to come with it. In my age group, there were four or five of us that were pushing for the first team. That’s the main aim for a lot of people. And I think you can see now, my age group and [those born in] 1996 – the year above – there’s a lot of players that are playing league football. So if we just kept doing the right things in training, even if the weekend came and we lost or we didn’t play as well as we wanted to, we were always developing as a team. We had some good players in our team and training was always intense and of a high quality. I had a problem with my back, so I couldn’t train with them, but that was the year I wanted to step up and try to go on the pre-season tour. I’ve had a lot of good coaches over the years, everyone had a big part to play in getting me where I am today. It’s tough, especially in the Academy – the best players that you come up against are the ones in training. When did you first make the step up from Academy to first-team training?

GOAL ranks Marcus Rashford's 10 best goals for Manchester United after the striker's entry into the club's list of centurions.

[United a crucial 1-0 victory to boost their top-four hopes](https://www.goal.com/en/lists/rashford-seals-win-man-utd-winners-losers-ratings-ten-hag-west-ham/blt12eadd1e2f12371b), and capped another impressive performance from a resurgent Rashford. [United's current squad, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (144)](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/career-goals-cristiano-ronaldo-man-united-real-madrid/blt9dc3234ddd889216), and he has plenty of time to climb the all-time rankings. [Marcus Rashford scored his 100th goal for Manchester United](https://www.goal.com/en/news/watch-rashford-100th-man-utd-goal-exquisite-assist-from-eriksen/bltc9b15b3e53261d72) in style on Sunday, stealing in behind Thilo Kehrer to nod home a beautiful Christian Eriksen cross at the back post.

Rashford, who has not appeared for England since missing a spot kick in the penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, notched his 100th goal for ...

Getting into the areas is one thing, but the technique and the desire and wanting to get your head on the end of it, that’s what I’ve been working on. [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) It’s nice to get a couple of goals out of that.” [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. I just want it to keep going really and keep enjoying it. “I just think the energy is a lot different,” Rashford said. If we’re winning games I’m sure that will happen.” But when asked if the World Cup was on his mind after his match-winning display at Old Trafford, Rashford, 25 on Monday, said: “Not at the minute. I’m concentrating on the next game. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

MOTD2 pundit Jermaine Jenas says on current form Marcus Rashford should not just make England's World Cup squad, he should start in Qatar.

Off it, he can arrive at the right time at the back post to get on the end of things. He did all the things that you want your centre-half to do. We know how good Rashford is when he is on form, but that was not the case last season. It's a big boost for United, and the timing is perfect for England too. I was really pleased for him. His pace hurts teams and he can run at defenders - if he is on the ball, he likes to cut inside and have that option to pass or go for goal. Jadon Sancho was left on the bench against the Hammers, and it is getting harder and harder to make a case for him to be in the England squad when it is announced on 10 November. Whether that is solely down to him, or because the system he plays in at United doesn't suit him, it is just not happening for him at the moment. Maguire is probably playing with around 50% of his usual confidence at the moment but he was able to deal with the pressure and remind people that he is a top centre-half, even if he is going through a difficult time. As a player, you always know the levels you can reach and where your current form compares to that, and Sancho will know he is well below his best at present. He is not reaching the heights he did when he was at City, but in the circumstances that's hardly a surprise. But he had plenty of other efforts and constantly had the hunger and desire to get into the box and make things happen, which is what I want to see him doing all the time for club and country.

Marcus Rashford said he has put the World Cup out of his mind to make sure Manchester United stay in touch with the Premier League top four.

I just want it to keep going really and keep enjoying it, if we're winning games I'm sure that will happen. "It's stuff that he mentioned as soon as he came in, we've been working on that, not meaningfully, but we've been improving and the best way to do it is on the pitch and in games like that." "I'm concentrating on the next game, we have to try and keep winning games here, we've got two more league games before the World Cup, if we win those two games we'll stay in touch with the top four so that's what I'm focused on."