Premier League legend Alan Shearer has insisted he wouldn’t change any of the constructive criticism he’s given Marcus Rashford.
The Manchester United forward scored his first goal in 189 days on Saturday, bagging the Red Devils’ second goal in their 3-0 win away at Southampton.
The 26-year-old’s goal came off the back of a difficult spell on the pitch.
He was left out of England’s squad for Euro 2024, and again for the Nations League clashes against the Republic of Ireland and Finland this month.
Last week, as per the i, an inside source claimed Rashford felt like he was being ‘bullied’ by ex-Premier League stars who have commented on him struggling to emulate the electric form he had in 2022/23 that saw him bag 30 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
But when Shearer, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards discussed Rashford on their latest episode of The Rest Is Football Podcast, Shearer praised the former England star for his goal, but still doubled down on his previous take.
Lineker said: “We talked about Rashford – and there’s been a little bit of a leak that says that Marcus Rashford’s not happy with the criticism that he’s been receiving.
“They think it’s a bit unfair – particularly from ex-players, ex-Manchester United players as well.
“You’ve been one of them Alan, we covered it shortly because we never have that much time on Match of the Day. What do you think?”
Shearer then responded: “I wouldn’t change anything that I’ve said.
“He’s set his own very high standards, you know? He’s a very good player – he’s on a huge contract at Manchester United and he hasn’t played as well as he can do or has done in the past.
“And when that is the case – at a big football club when you’re a big name – you’re going to get criticised.
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“And he did – but he doesn’t get criticised for performances like yesterday, you know? When he’s tracking back and running, and taking players on and scoring his goal.
“He looked a really good player yesterday.”
Shearer went on to suggest a simple solution to stop the criticism.
“He’s now got to do that for the rest of the season,” he said, referring to his performance at St Mary’s.
“There was a reason I said it last night. There’s a reason why he wasn’t in the England squad.
“It’s not just the pundits who were critical of him. Other players have overtaken him from where he was a couple of years ago and there’s no doubt that there’s the talent in there, but that has to be a regular.
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“That has to be every single week, and not just against Southampton as it was. And then he won’t get criticised. Pretty simple isn’t it?”
Shearer didn’t mince his words when he assessed Rashford’s performance in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton before the international break.
Rashford found himself offside at the AMEX, and despite Lineker giving him credit for looking to try and make runs, Shearer wasn’t having it.
“Yeah, but he’s not a youngster anymore,” he said. “He has to understand the position and look across the pitch when you can see the whole of it, you shouldn’t be offside then.”
Man United are back in action against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, hosting the League One side at Old Trafford, live on talkSPORT 2.
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