Erik ten Hag reveals what was to blame for Marcus Rashford's poor 2023/24 form

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag believes Marcus Rashford's 'lifestyle' was the source of his struggles last season.

Expectations were high for Rashford heading into the 2023/24 campaign after he bagged a career-high 30 goals the year prior. However, he was unable to reach anywhere near that same level and wound up finding the net only eight times, losing his place in the England setup for Euro 2024.

The forward also came under scrutiny for his off-field discipline and was notably dropped by United after taking an extended break clubbing in Belfast.

But with three goals and one assist in his last two games, Ten Hag is confident that Rashford is trending upwards once again.

"I think he is on the way back," Ten Hag said of Rashford at a press conference on Friday.

"He always knew, and every player knows, when your lifestyle is not right, you can't perform. You don't get the right levels when you don't have a good and disciplined life away from [United's training ground] Carrington.

He added: "In this club, you definitely need some resilience.

"No football career is only up. You always go down. You have to deal with it. He took control of it and I think he is on the way back.

"Probably he needed some help but at the end of the day, he has to do it by himself.

"He has to set his life right, his training attitude right, his match attitude right. When he sets his professionalism he will perform because he is a class player."

Rashford has the chance to extend his fine run of form on Saturday evening when United take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The Red Devils were thrashed 4-0 in this fixture at the back end of the 2023/24 season.