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Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford: Top four not impossible

Watch the full interview on Soccer Saturday from 12pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League

Marcus Rashford celebrates after doubling Manchester United's lead
Image: Marcus Rashford insists Man Utd can still finish in the Premier League's top four

Marcus Rashford says Manchester United finishing in the Premier League top four this season is "not impossible" and reveals how important Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Anthony Martial are to his own game...

It has been an up and down start for Man Utd, who are currently 10th in the Premier League table with 13th points - a whopping ten points behind Leicester and Chelsea who currently occupy the third and fourth spots.

But Rashford believes that making the Champions League places is not out of Man Utd's reach, and that once the team are in full flow on the field, they will be hard to stop.

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He told Soccer Saturday: "It's going to be tough [to get into the top four] but it's nowhere near impossible. We don't need to focus on any other teams, we play our best football when we focus on ourselves and us improving.

"That's the only way Man Utd play good football and we need to get back to doing that. It can be very simple for us and at the same time, you don't want to make it complicated for yourself.

"The main thing is bouncing back. I always think with home games, if you're energetic on the pitch, you're making runs and you're lively, you win games more often than not.

Manchester United players celebrate Anthony Martial's opener against Partizan Belgrade
Image: Rashford has pinpointed the areas Man Utd need to improve

"Old Trafford is a special place and if we do that with the fans behind us, it's a tough place to come. With the tempo we play at when we're at our best, it's very hard to stop us so we use it as a template and we need to get back to doing that.

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"I just look at the games where we've done it well and the games where we haven't. You weigh them up and look at how you can be more consistent in the games you've done well in.

"There was the game against Leicester where it wasn't 90 minutes of fun but you go through the game. We won 1-0 and it does a lot for the team and you as an individual. But ideally, you want that support there and you want to be in positions to help your team-mates."

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Anthony Martial's return to the team has helped Marcus Rashford return to form

Man Utd have lacked consistency at times this season - winning three, drawing four and losing four of their opening 11 games - but Rashford has pinpointed where they need to improve.

"The consistency in the performance and the consistency in the games you win are two completely different things," he explained.

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"Out of 38 league games, you're not going to play well 38 times but just because you don't play well, doesn't mean you can't win the game and that's the thing we can improve on. When we're not quite playing at our best, we can find a way to get over the line.

"If we control the moments when the opposition are on top better, I'm sure in time we will know how to control them, their fans, the tempo that they play at and once we do that, we can start to win consistently."

'Ole gives a different perspective'

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Anthony Martial has helped Marcus Rashford's return to form.
Image: Rashford says Solskjaer gives him a different view on his own game

Rashford is being coached by a man who has been there and done it for Man Utd up front and he says Solskjaer gives him a different view on his own game.

"When someone is speaking to you that has been there and done it, it comes to you from a different perspective and it's easier to take in the information he's giving you," he said.

"You understand it a little bit more and as a forward, sometimes that's all you need - it needs to be simple and clear what you need to do. If you do that 10 or 15 times in a game, you for sure get a goal or two goals.

"That's the angle Ole looks at it from and for me, I have to look at it more from that perspective."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Anthony Martial's attitude is 'rubbing off' on his team-mates
Image: Solskjaer says Martial's attitude is 'rubbing off' on his team-mates

The forward - who turned 22 last week - has been reunited with Anthony Martial in attack after the Frenchman's return from injury, with Rashford praising both Martial and Daniel James.

"If you have support as a central striker, it's not bad at all," he said. "You can link with people and you can make runs that out you directly in front of the goal so it can be better at times. But sometimes when you're a loan striker and you've not got some support, it can be a tough 90 minutes.

"He [Martial] has been a big miss. As a No 9, it's always easier if you have someone you can work off and get close to and right now, we're having a good period. We've been playing good football but we can definitely score more goals and assist more and that's what we'll be looking at more as a pair.

"Dan [James] as well, he's very effective from the wide position and he can definitely score more goal himself and get a lot of assists for us. We take it game-by-game and look where we can improve after each match."

Watch the interview on Soccer Saturday

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Catch the full Marcus Rashford interview on Soccer Saturday this weekend, from 12pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League.

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