Manchester United Boss Ten Hag Opens Up On How Marcus Rashford Should Avoid 'Laziness'

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag does not want Marcus Rashford to be "satisfied" with his current form, saying it will only lead to "laziness."

Rashford was yet again on the goals chart as Manchester United defeated Leeds United 2-0 at Elland Road in their Premier League meeting Sunday.

The 25-year-old forward has now netted in four consecutive Premier League matches for Manchester United. Rashford has netted a goal in six out of the Red Devils' last seven outings across competitions.

"I don't know when it will stop but if you are satisfied with it, then it will. And because satisfaction goes to laziness, you have to keep investing every day. When he keeps the investment and keeps the focus in every game and brings the energy and belief in, he will keep scoring," Ten Hag told reporters Sunday.

"He has the skills to score with right, with left, and with his head. It's about him getting into position," the Dutch boss added.

In Europe's top five competitions, no player has scored more than Rashford since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Manchester United forward has netted 13 goals in 15 matches since the marquee event in Qatar. He is ahead of AS Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder (9 goals), Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (8 goals), Manchester City's Erling Haaland (8 goals) and Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette (8 goals).

Rashford has now scored 21 goals for Manchester United in 34 matches across competitions this season. He is one goal away from equalling his best run in a season, which came in 2019-20 under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Rashford had a disappointing run last season as he managed just five goals in all competitions, including two in his last 28 games of an injury-struck campaign. The young Englishman has bounced back in style under his new manager Ten Hag, who took over the club's charge ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

After Manchester United's latest victory, when reporters asked Ten Hag if Rashford was the best in Europe at present, the Netherlands manager replied his player was "definitely one of them."

Ten Hag also admitted that he was certain he could improve Rashford when he took charge last May.

"I was convinced from the first moment. I was really excited to work with him. I thought I could get more out of him. He has so many skills and such high potential and there can be even more," said Ten Hag.

Manchester United are five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Ten Hag and Co. have a big trip coming up as they are set to travel to Camp Nou to lock horns with FC Barcelona on Thursday in the Europa League knockout playoffs.