Marcus Rashford’s 12-hour Belfast tequila bender was a ‘WAKE-UP call’, claims former Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer… as he labels the England star a ‘top player’ and backs him to become more consistent

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has had a wake-up call after being dropped over a disciplinary issue and must push himself to be more consistent, the Premier League club’s former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday.

The 26-year-old England international missed training after reportedly being spotted in Belfast nightspots and was absent from United’s 4-2 FA Cup fourth round win at Newport County last month.

United said they had dealt with the ‘internal disciplinary matter’ and Rashford scored on his return to Erik ten Hag’s starting side in last week’s 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Rashford scored a career-best 30 goals last season but has netted just six times in all competitions this season and 50-year-old Solskjaer said he needed to rediscover his best form.

“Obviously I’ve managed Marcus for three years and I know him. “It’s not my job to discuss his performances, but he was fantastic last season and it’s about consistency in football,” Solskjaer told Reuters in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

Solskjaer managed Rashford for three years and saw him develop into a key figure for United

‘Marcus and many others have not reached the top this season. I’m sure he had a wake-up call last week and hopefully that will spur him on.

‘Is it the manager’s job to get the best out of him, or is it mainly the responsibility of himself or any player to get the best out of yourself? I think it’s more than that.’

Speaking on the first leg of his tour of India, which also includes visits to Mumbai and New Delhi, Solskjaer, who won the Champions League, six Premier League titles and two FA Cup trophies as a United player, said he has full confidence had in Rashford.

“He’s had a fantastic career, with some ups and downs,” added the Norwegian, who is hosted by Tilak Gaurang Shah of quiz company Ace of Pubs.

‘Now we hope that he will achieve that consistency, because I know and we all know that there is a top player there. It’s hard to be at the top all the time, but it takes sacrifice.’

Solskjaer, who was sacked by United in November 2021 after a string of poor results, hoped Ten Hag could guide them back to glory.

United won the League Cup and finished third in the table last season under the Dutchman, but are currently sixth with 38 points from 23 games, eight points behind the top four, with the only realistic chance of success being the FA Cup.

“I know exactly what he goes through in the good times and the tougher times,” Solskjaer said. ‘We want to get back to the top and I hope that is with Eric.

Solskjaer labeled Rashford a top player and backed him to improve his consistency

He also said he sympathized with Erik ten Hag but believes he can take United back to the top

Solskjaer said the arrival of British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe as a minority stakeholder had given fans new faith and the Norwegian spoke out about media reports that the INEOS group founder was keen to upgrade the Old Trafford club’s stadium.

“We have to move with the times and something has to be done right now,” he said. “It’s renovation or a new stadium, because we’ll fall behind if we stay in the same place we have now.

“It will definitely divide the fans because history is important. But we swapped The Cliff (training ground), iconic for United and the Busby Babes, with Carrington.

“It looks like we might have to build a new stadium.”