Erik ten Hag hits out at former Chelsea striker following criticism of Man Utd star Marcus Rashford

Erik ten Hag has supported Marcus Rashford’s decision to spend time in New York during the international break after the Manchester United star pulled out of England duty.

Rashford, 25, was pictured with his fiance in the American city last week on the afternoon before The Three Lions took on Italy in the Euro 2024 qualifier.

The United forward did not play for his country during the break, with a minor injury being cited as the reason for his absence. Many believed that he was instead just resting after a busy period of games for his club.

A strategy that many United players would use when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge. However, Rashford’s short holiday in the US was highly criticised by former Chelsea and Millwall striker Tony Cascarino.

“England were (likely) not aware of a trip to New York and that’s going to frustrate Gareth (Southgate), because Gareth ultimately wants loyalty from his players,” he said on TalkSPORT last week.

“Now, this isn’t commitment from Rashford and there will be an element of frustration from Southgate, without a doubt. He might say all the right things and say it isn’t an issue, but deep down he’ll probably be thinking, ‘We need more from Marcus’.”

However, Southgate later dismissed those claims about the United star’s time away and Ten Hag has also rebutted Cascarino’s comments ahead of the return to the Premier League as The Reds face Newcastle at St James Park.

“I think it’s positive that he was on a break,” Erik explained when asked about Rashford’s period of time off. “Rashford, I think with Bruno [Fernandes], he was playing the most games of the whole squad.

“I think with Manchester United playing the most games across Europe, especially with the internationals, our internationals are not players who are mostly on the bench with their nations, mostly they are playing, so we our players played the most games in this crazy season. 

“So, they need also time that they can have a breather and they can collect energy. So, for me, it’s positive that he took that time to turn off from football. 

“I’ve seen him back this week and he showed a lot of energy, a lot of motivation, so this training, as the whole team, was a really good session with a lot of spirit, but especially also with Marcus. I think, therefore, it was good.”

Rashford has scored 30 goals for club and country so far this season after he netted three times during the winter World Cup late last year. He is on course to provide one of the best goalscoring seasons of a Man United player in recent years.