One of the biggest positives of Erik ten Hag's tenure as Manchester United manager so far has been the speed at which several individuals have improved under his coaching methods.
The Dutchman, who will be looking to oversee a fourth successive win when the Reds travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation for making players better and bringing the best out of what he has got to work with. Although the season is only three months old, evidence to back that up is already mounting in M16.
Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford are just four players who have certainly benefitted from the Dutchman's appointment so far. In the eyes of many supporters, Dalot, rightfully so, has been dubbed as the Reds' most improved player so far this term.
The right-back has developed at a rapid rate of knots, becoming one of the most important figures in Ten Hag's thinking. His performances have gone from strength-to-strength and his contributions, both defensively and offensively, have massively improved.
But while Dalot's recent form has been massively encouraging, there is no escaping the fact that Rashford has bettered his goals tally for the whole of last season by two already. The 25-year-old, who will have ambitions of being included in Gareth Southgate's England World Cup squad next week, notched his 100th goal in United colours last week, scoring the winner in their narrow 1-0 win over West Ham United.
His career has been rekindled by Ten Hag, as last season he looked lost and almost disinterested at times. He scored a paltry five goals and was constantly on the receiving end of criticism.
And one of the most scathing assessments that Rashford received came from now-United assistant manager Steve McClaren, who hit out at his attitude. The former England boss, who was brought back to Old Trafford in the summer by Ten Hag, was critical of the United academy graduate after he failed to pounce on a loose ball inside the 18-yard box during an FA Cup tie against Villa at Old Trafford almost a year ago.
"I hate that attitude in a player," McClaren told talkSPORT, reflecting on Rashford's performance back in January. "Body language is so, so important and that was the criticism of United players in the last few weeks, but Rashford has probably had this problem throughout his career in terms of questioning his attitude.
"He gets deterred too easily and doesn't fight through bad moments. He doesn't stay in the game. If he's not having a good game, he's not having a good game.
"If he's not having a good first half, he'll never have a good second half. I just look at him and think that boy needs help, off the field and through the manager."
McClaren went on to admit that he felt Rashford knew he had an attitudinal problem.
"The help is there in modern football," added McClaren. "He (Gareth Southgate) has brought in a sports psychologist. He (Rashford) has got the talent and the ability.
"There's that one cornerstone which we call mentality, attitude, which he hasn't grasped yet. There are certain tools with which you can come out of bad times, so you play one bad pass and don't make it two or three.
"You get back to playing simple again. He's brought in a sports psychologist but a player needs to admit first that he's in the wrong, has a bad attitude and needs help."
Looking back now, are Ten Hag and McClaren, perhaps, the ones that have given Rashford the help that he needed? He has been a breath of fresh air so far this season, looking razor-sharp and hungry to prove a point.
He has established himself as one of Ten Hag's most trusted lieutenants and is among the names that you would have first in line to feature on the team sheet. His career has been resurrected in recent months, ever since Ten Hag walked through the door at Old Trafford, meaning questions about his attitude have not once been raised.
sacaiorsy
3
rashford is one of the most inform players in the league so far,great guy