Marcus Rashford revealed that former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho helped him not get too angry at the club. The 27-year-old England admitted that if United didn’t play the perfect game, whether they won or lost, he would have been ecstatic. However, Mourinho’s more relaxed approach to victory had a major impact on Rashford.
Rashford, which is currently offering season-long loans in Barcelona, provided insights while Gary Lineker and Micah Richards spoke on the Football Podcast. When United’s coach was asked by the line car who influenced him the most, Rashford mentioned Louis Van Girl, Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskal. He discussed the unique qualities of each coach and expressed surprise at Mourinho’s unique approach during his tenure from 2016 to 2018.
“Yeah, they’re different (all three coaches) but that’s because (it’s) we had so many different managers,” Rashford said of the 10 managers United had since 2013.
“It’s very difficult, it’s impossible for me to compare managers, but when you’re a player you’re developing, like at a younger age, you learn that you’ve never taught you anything before.
“Like Jose, I didn’t have a manager who was so persistent in winning before Jose. Van Girl wasn’t stuck in winning… He stuck in winning, but he wanted to play beautiful style of football. Jose doesn’t mind.
“Of course, as long as you win, if you can choose, he wants you to play well. But if you win, you win. You move on to the next game.”
Explaining how Mourinho’s methods proved a welcome change for him, he said: “He (Mourinho) had this attitude. At first, I was confused throughout my development at United.
“But because we won, he’s the manager who is the winner, he doesn’t bring up points that we know we’ve won and we’ve lost that last game. But when we lose, he brings up points.
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Following months of rumours, Rashford eventually left United, the club he was just seven years old for Aston Villa at the beginning of the year. After netting four times under Unai Emery, he chose to take part in the Spanish heavyweight division this summer.
United manager Reuben Amorim is currently hosting another fresh chapter of Old Trafford. United finished 15th last season and lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
When pressed to identify what was lost in his previous club, Rashford believes the Red Devils have been lost from the “principles” established by former peace boss Alex Ferguson.
“When Ferguson was at the helm, there were principles for the entire academy, not just the first team,” he said. “So you can choose players from 2015 and they’ll all understand the principles of playing Manchester United Way.
“A team that has been successful over a period of time has a principle that the next coach or player must match or contribute. Sometimes United wanted to win, but that was reactionary.
