Manchester United are now on international break having lost back to back games for the first time since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over the club in mid December. The recent setbacks shouldn’t cloud the perception of the astounding job Solskjaer has done overall during the short time that he has been in charge.
The Norwegian took a club that was in shambles under Jose Mourinho and took them back into the top four (at least temporarily) and guided them to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, where they will face FC Barcelona.
There are many United players who have flourished under Ole, and Marcus Rashford is certainly one who comes to mind first.
Rashford and Solskjaer seem to have an amazing connection. The results have shown themselves on the pitch. The mentor/mentee striker to striker relationship has yielded a major up turn in Rashford’s form.
In a very detailed and wide-ranging interview with GQ UK, Marcus Rashford discussed the “amazing” and “remarkable” impact that the ex-United forward has had on the club- not just on him, or the roster of players, but the entire organization.
Here’s how Rashford answered the query about Solskjaer’s impact on him personally in the GQ interview-
I think just his presence around the building has changed everyone really. Even the lady at the front desk, Kath, she’s been working there for years, and you notice a difference in everyone. Growing up at United, that’s what the feeling has always been like.
Like this. And to have it back, the way it is now, is amazing. That’s without even touching on what we’ve done on the pitch. How we’ve improved ourselves as a team, because that’s where we can still improve a lot. But the feeling I have now is all the players understand that.
When everyone’s on the same page, there’s no telling how far we can get. What he’s done since he’s come in is remarkable. We’re in a place now, in the League, that was pretty much impossible two months ago. So we’re just looking to carry it on now, to try and better ourselves, and look forward to the next season.
Marcus Rashford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the rest of United return to action against Watford on March 30.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.