Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has only scored five goals in the last four months, in fact, the state of the English winger has been in question for more than a year. United interim manager Ronnick said Rashford's shoulder injury had healed and he was not happy with his recent performances, but could not use playing as an excuse for poor playing as a right winger.
Against Brentford and West Ham, Rashford scored off the bench, however, he has been in a dud again in his last five games. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, Manchester United started but was replaced after playing 75 minutes and it was widely believed that Lonnick should have removed him earlier.
Manchester United legend Scholes believes Rashford is too anxious on the pitch and Rio Ferdinand has criticised his performance. Longnick revealed that United are working hard to improve Rashford's form and will regularly analyze with him to let him watch video recordings.
"Marcus (Marcus) was certainly not injured," Lonnick said, "and there was no problem with his shoulder anymore." We've talked a lot about Marcus over the past few weeks, and I've personally spoken to him many times. There's nothing to add to that, and he, like the other players, is what matters most on the pitch."
Lonnick added: "He started against Atletico and the players had to perform, I'm pretty sure he's not happy with his performance now. But if we talk about this every week, talk about our thoughts on the future, it doesn't help. Is he not happy? I don't see any reason why he's upset? We've been doing well over the last few weeks or even months and the team itself is in good shape. Now, he's trying to get back to his best form and performance, and we can only try to help him."
On how United helped Marcus Rashford, Lonnick said: "We show him videos and talk to him regularly. In training, he's at his best and that's why I decided to put him on the pitch. Now the key is how to translate the performance in training into the game, which is the next step he must take. I remember six or seven weeks ago, Jaden (Sancho) was in a very similar situation and he was probably the best role model. In the same way, the players themselves have to work hard to get the best performance, and marcus is the same."
Sancho was probably United's best player in February, having played well on the left, while Marcus Rashford, who used to be a left winger, now has to switch to the right. But Lonnick told him not to use location as an excuse. "Marcus can also play on the right and I remember in the last game carried out by Carrick, against Arsenal he played well on the right wing. So in my opinion, it's not a question of who plays left and who plays right. Jaden has been consistent on the left and has a good relationship with Luke Shaw, and he also plays regularly on the left at Borussia Dortmund."
"I don't think that's the main issue, they can both be left and right. Like I said, against Atletico's first half, we were too static, easy to predict, the opponents defended too easily, and that's where we changed in the second half, and this has often been the case in recent games like the first half at home against Burnley, the second half against Leeds United and Brighton. We need to be proactive, keep running, make it difficult for the opponent to defend, it doesn't matter whether Marcus plays on the left or on the right."
"I've played a lot of games lately," Sancho said as he explained why he was recovering, "I think it's because I work harder, I believe in myself more, I try to create opportunities." I'm glad my teammates also trust me and give me support, especially when I'm one-on-one, hearing the fans cheer me on and motivate me to beat my opponents... I'm happy with my performance."
Perhaps Anthony Erlanga is also a United team-mate that Rashford should learn from, and the 19-year-old scored in the Champions League because he had studied the characteristics of Atletico goalkeeper Oblak. The goalkeeper, who has been in a slump this season, deliberately guarded the front post when facing Erlanga due to multiple near-post losses, resulting in a huge gap in the far corner and was easily pushed by a Manchester United winger to score.
"It was my first chance in the race, but I kept doing my homework." Erlanga explains, "I like to shoot at the far corner and the goalkeeper strikes, leaving me a lot of room. At that moment, I just had to stay calm, calm and relaxed, shoot the ball in along the gap, it was a happy day."