Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has revealed that Erik ten Hag’s latest pre-season is “one of the toughest” he’s ever been through, describing it as both physically and mentally challenging.
The Man United no.10 had his best statistical season ever last year, managing his highest-ever goal tally with 30 across all competitions, registering 11 assists and emerging as an even greater talisman in Erik ten Hag‘s team than under any previous manager.
Speaking to Gary Neville on the latest of The Overlap, the 25-year-old gave an in-depth interview on everything from what he’s learned from his previous coaches and what parts of his game he’s working on, to hunting down Wayne Rooney‘s goalscoring record, how his family have helped him and more.
He also touched on the impact ten Hag has had on him and the rest of the squad so far, describing this most recent pre-season as “one of the toughest I’ve ever had”.
Rashford speaking candidly and confidently on the latest episode of The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet.
Chatting with the former defender last month, Rashford said: “Erik’s pre-season is one of the toughest, running wise but we also do a lot of passing drills and it’s a lot of mental concentration and when you’re already physically tired, it’s difficult to concentrate for long periods of time.”
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The lightning-fast forward said that in addition to lots of ball work, the squad regularly do “20–30-minute technical sessions” before breaking into “eight or 10 blocks of box to boxes or shorter intensity runs” and then going back into the technical work.
He went on to add that part of the challenge has been carrying out these sessions in the “heat of the places that [they’re] training in”, but insisted that he feels in good shape as the pre-season is drawing towards an end.
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In fact, Rashford is feeling so confident — something he says has been restored throughout the team, reminding them that they “wouldn’t be here if [they] weren’t good players” — that he believes he could push as far as “35 or 40 goals”. Reds will just have to hope he doesn’t pick up any more injuries and can kick on even further this season, no doubt having already been lofted by his new contract.
Fitness was another aspect that the Wythenhsawe winger touched upon, describing his shoulder surgery back in 2021 as the “lowest point” in his career, and while the England international has struggled with a number of injury problems over the past few seasons, it seems his hard work and determination is paying off.
As he sees it, “If I don’t do these things [pre-season training camps], maybe you start the season and don’t feel that you’re up to scratch and I don’t want to be in that position”. As well as working on his left foot and his heading ability, Rashy is also eyeing up longevity and says he wants to play until he’s 37.
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One thing United fans will be pleased to hear is how the former Ajax coach has helped improve the chemistry amongst the squad too, stating that he’s “really concentrated on making everyone together as one”, whether they’re in the starting 11 or not.
You can Marcus Rashford’s Overlap interview with Gary Neville in full down below:
Rashford on ten Hag’s testing pre-season, wanting to start for England, a potential future in coaching and more.
Featured Image — Sky Bet/The Overlap (via YouTube)/Marcus Rashford/ Man United (via IG)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
3rd August 2023 
