Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has expressed his willingness to help Marcus Rashford regain his top form. Rashford scored the first goal of the Amorim era at Ipswich on Sunday but struggled in the orthodox number nine role he was assigned.
Amorim acknowledged that the role he gave Rashford was not ideal and has pledged to work with the 27-year-old to get him back to his best form. However, Amorim emphasized that Rashford himself must show the desire to improve. “We’ll try to find the right solution for him, but he has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment,” Amorim said.
Rashford’s last impressive scoring form was almost 18 months ago, when he scored a career-best 30 goals in Erik ten Hag’s first season at United. Amorim is confident that Rashford can regain his form with the right support. “Then he will have all the help of the staff, the club, and the fans because he is a Manchester United boy,” Amorim said.
However, Amorim stressed that Rashford must take the initiative to improve. “But he has to be the first one to want it,” Amorim said. Rashford’s form is crucial to United’s success, as the team has struggled to score goals this season.
Only Everton and the bottom two, Crystal Palace and Southampton, have scored fewer than United’s 13 goals in the Premier League this season. Alejandro Garnacho is United’s top scorer with three goals.
Amorim has been linked with a move for ex-Coventry forward Viktor Gyokeres, who is riding high in the Champions League top scorers’ chart this season with five goals. However, Amorim is focusing on improving the team’s existing attacking options.
“Of course, there is a concern,” Amorim said. “You could feel it in the second half [against Ipswich] when we controlled possession of the ball, but we were not dangerous.” Amorim believes that the team’s attacking woes can be addressed without making new signings.
“I know the question is if I need a new striker scoring goals, but I think we have to improve as a team,” Amorim said. “We have quality players who can score so many goals. Rasmus [Hojlund] and Josh [Zirkzee] and Rashford will score more goals.”
Amorim is confident that the team’s attacking players will improve their form. “Even Bruno [Fernandes] has to score more goals. Amad [Diallo] has to be better near the goal. All these guys need to improve,” Amorim said.
Amorim is looking forward to his first home game with United, against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday. The match will provide an opportunity for United’s attacking players to regain their form.
Amorim faced a packed news conference room on Wednesday at United’s Carrington training ground, where he was asked about his media commitments and the surprise interruption by Ipswich shareholder and pop superstar Ed Sheeran during his post-match chat on Sky Sports at Ipswich.
