Manchester United's Erik ten Hag must find ways to make Marcus Rashford more 'effective' - Joleon Lescott

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is "not helping" Marcus Rashford to be a more impactful player this season, according to Joleon Lescott.

The 26-year-old has failed to hit the heights of last season where he scored 30 goals across all competitions and played a key role as the club won the Carabao Cup and finished third in the Premier League.

Rashford has only scored six goals this term and recently defended himself following criticism that he was not fully committed to the club.

The forward netted a stunning strike to open the scoring in the derby on Sunday but United slipped to a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City which leaves them 11 points from a place in the top four.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Lescott acknowledged that the player is lacking confidence this season and also said that Rashford would be better suited to play for rivals City.

"To have a consistent level of confidence is hard, you have to perform at a consistent level all the time," Lescott said. "But for me, confidence always comes from the work you do away from the lights. Also moments like [the derby goal] will do that.

"As strong and decisive as he can be, he played against arguably the best full-back in Premier League history so can the manager take that away from him and say your strengths are your strengths but your strengths aren’t as good as Kyle Walker’s strengths for today, because of the confidence.

"So maybe I need to play you on the right wing or a centre-forward and explain that to him. You can be our match-winner but you’re less likely to do so from the left wing even though that’s your favourite position. Your better outcome today may be as a striker due to the way City have been playing and the goals they’ve been conceding.

"There’s other ways for Marcus Rashford to be effective and I don’t think the manager is helping him in that aspect. There is responsibility on Marcus Rashford, he has to take accountability and I think he’s doing that, but I still believe he’s their best player and I think he’s the only player who plays for Man City.

"If Pep has Marcus Rashford, he’s 100% a better player and I’m not solely blaming Ten Hag but he has a better impact on the game [if he is] at City. The system would allow him to produce moments that he’s comfortable in.

"How many times are you getting him one-on-one in the final third? But how many times was [Jeremy] Doku one-on-one? It’s because the system allows him to be in positions that you are good at.

"If that’s Marcus Rashford getting the ball up to nine times a half and all he has to do is run at the full-back, he’s more confident from that alone. He doesn’t have to worry about tracking back and tucking in."

The defeat in the Manchester derby was another reminder of the gap between both clubs, which came just weeks after United's new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he aims to knock City and Liverpool off their perch”.

Lescott said United need to stay patient with their rebuild process and focus on a long-term vision.

"I don’t think it’s a fair fight until Pep [Guardiola] leaves," he added. "If Pep chooses to stay for five years, it’s going to take United six years to be contenders. They are so far away from where they need to be from Man City.

"Whoever comes after Pep is going to be different and [Jurgen] Klopp leaving is a huge thing and that’s what I think is missing – preparing for that. Don’t prepare to challenge Man City and Liverpool now, prepare to challenge once [Guardiola and Klopp] have gone.

"That’s why Arsenal are the title winners when Pep leaves because they are further along in their process and by that time, Spurs will be further along. They recognise what they can do – we can be in top four with Ange [Postecoglou].

"But once everyone has left, there’s a real opportunity. I think Man United are trying to miss out that stage but just be patient in your role and your role is to get better and once Klopp and Pep leave, now we can push."

Ten Hag's side face Lescott's former club Everton on Saturday at Old Trafford, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The Merseyside club are facing a battle against relegation for another season but Lescott believes they'll remain in the Premier League.

"I think they stay up but, in the greatest respect, they probably stay up by default," he explained. "The other teams are probably worse rather than them being better. A team like Everton shouldn’t be thinking about how fast we can get to 40 points.

"They should be thinking: ‘We’re not going to get relegated and how close can we get to the top 8?’ That should be a fair expectation of the fans but obviously they realise it’s not like that at the moment. What’s crazy is it’s becoming normal for the fans.

"Having spoken to Evertonians, the optimism isn’t even there at the start of the season and that’s a bad place to be as a fan. You can’t be building a new stadium and trying to attract the players, having spent the money they’ve spent, and just avoiding relegation. That can’t be the normal."

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