Last season was the toughest season of Marcus Rashford’s career, and mentally he looked distant a lot of the time.
Speaking on his podcast, FIVE, Rio Ferdinand has given his backing to his fellow countryman to regain his confidence during a lie detector test.
The Manchester United legend was asked by presenter Joel Beya “Marcus Rashford, does he gain his confidence back this season yes or no?”
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Ferdinand’s response was a strong “Yes”, answering before Beya had even finished speaking. The lie detector then verified that the legendary centre half was telling the truth.
He then proceeded to send a message to the player, saying “Marcus, shut these people up please. Shut everyone up, I don’t wanna hear no chat from these people.”
He continued, “I want you to come back, you’ve had a pre-season, you’ve got no injuries now, blast up the Premier League please.”
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Rashford had a solid pre-season with United, scoring three goals, looking much fitter, and with better all-around performances.
Ferdinand delivered his message with passion, and defended himself when Beya questioned whether or not he actually believes Rashford will do well.
Beya said “I think he’s gonna do alright, but I don’t know if you believe he’s gonna do alright.”
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Rio responded with “That lie detector test has just told you I’m telling the truth.”
Ferdinand then went on to speak about Rashford’s body language last season, where he often looked elsewhere.
“Last season, his body language was the thing that was affecting me. His body language, he didn’t look happy, and I saw him last season and spoke to him about it.”
Ferdinand is not the first person to comment on the body language of United’s players, with new assistant manager Steve McClaren having previously slammed it.
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United’s former number five then drew on his own experiences as a player, “Even if you’re not happy sometimes you have to go out there and act. That’s what players do”
When asked by Joel Beya if he experienced this himself, he answered “Yeah, sometimes I wasn't happy with certain things behind the scenes maybe, but you wouldn’t know that with the way I played.”
“Forget performance or how I played but my body language people would never be able to go ‘You know what he looks like he ain’t happy or something’s going on behind the scenes there’,”
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“And Marcus, for whatever reason, it creeped into his performance, into his demeanour last season. This season, he’s gonna be happier.”
“He’s had a pre-season, he’s got no injuries, and there’s a manager here from what I’m seeing him talk about that he says ‘You know what, I’m believing in what he’s saying.’”
He finished off with a strong prediction, “If them three things all play out this season, then Marcus Rashford will have a good season.”
Manchester United’s 2022/23 campaign kicks off this Sunday against Brighton and Hove Albion, and Rashford will almost certainly be in the side.
He last scored on United’s opening day in 2020, with a brace in a 4-0 win against Chelsea, and will be looking to get off to another strong start under Erik ten Hag.
Topics: Rio Ferdinand, Marcus Rashford, Steve McClaren, Manchester United, Premier League
Yusuf Haq