How last season’s disappointment impacted Man United – Rashford

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer [Courtesy]

Marcus Rashford believes Manchester United's dismal showing last season has brought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad closer together.

United finished last season in sixth place, missing out on the Champions League, after replacing Jose Mourinho with Solskjaer midway through the campaign.

The Reds finished a whopping 32 points behind champions Manchester City and were arguably at their lowest ebb since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013 with their last title success.

But Solskjaer's side banished the painful memories of last season with a thumping 4-0 win over Chelsea and new boss Frank Lampard in their opening Premier League fixture.

And Rashford, who scored twice in Sunday's Old Trafford rout, claimed the adversity of last season had ultimately served to create a stronger bond among United's squad.

“Looking back, I think it has definitely brought us together,” said Rashford. “I just feel like we all understand that we can't start this season like we started and ended last season.

“The middle bit of the season was Manchester United and that's how we have to aim to be every day.

“Let's not forget that at Christmas, no-one expected us to get anywhere near the top four in the Premier League.

“So going from that position, to the position we found ourselves in, then just missing out, it was tough.”

Sunday's impressive performance from United showed a different playing style, with a more pressing, high-intensity approach from Solskjaer's men.

Solskjaer tried to implement that style last season but, after initial success, United tailed off towards the end of the campaign, unable to maintain it.

But England striker Rashford claimed the manner of the win over Chelsea, with United not letting up all game, showed they have mastered the new approach.

“Even in the last three years, everyone's always wanted to press, but for us it was how we could go about it in a way that was suitable for the players,” said Rashford.

“Now I just feel like all the players have come together and bought into one way of doing it. That's the important thing.

“Everyone wishes you could have the ball for 90 minutes, but in reality you're not going to, so the quicker we get it back, the more time we can spend on the ball.”

Solskjaer has said there is no reason why Rashford, who has scored 13 goals in each of his last two seasons, cannot score 20-plus goals this term.

But the 21-year-old forward said he has not set himself any goal targets this season, despite getting off to a flying start with Sunday's double.

“I don't put pressure on myself to get this amount of goals or assists,” Rashford told United Review.

“I'm a believer that if the team gets the goals, the individual things just go hand-in-hand with that. It's just concentrating on the team.

“We just collectively need to concentrate on ourselves and keep improving as we have been. Then we don't need to worry about other teams.

“We're Man United we just need to worry about ourselves and we'll see where it brings us at the end of the season.”