Marcus Rashford’s temporary blip is no cause for concern 

Marcus Rashford has looked devoid of ideas in recent weeks as evidenced by his lackadaisical displays in which the forward has struggled to produce a fruitful display for the Manchester club in the past 12 games. It's very simple really; the Englishman is suffering a crisis of confidence.

The fans at the Stretford End expect every single player to be lucky enough to represent the badge on the front of their shirts. Effort and hard work are the minimum that is expected and Rashford hasn't exactly been the shining light that displays all the virtues that embody the United emblem over recent weeks.

Some fans at Old Trafford turned on Rashford, who was vilified on social media for his string of lacklustre performances, and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand admitted that “Marcus Rashford’s body language was an issue” earlier this month.  The forward has accepted that his recent performances have not been up to the level that is expected of him as he himself said in a tweet.

The United man should be fit and firing at this pivotal juncture of the season as he underwent surgery to fix all the injuries that have plagued him. There could be a few reasons as to why attacker is failing to hit the heights expected of him.

However, blaming Rashford's less than stellar performances solely on his charity work is a foolhardy notion as the United star’s commitment to the cause has been exemplified by his efforts to recuperate from his shoulder injury during the beginning of the season according to Jason Burt. The shoulder issue meant that he could not do the cardiovascular work he needed while also being unable to run properly. It means that in the absence of a pre-season where training is focused on fitness, he is still not fully fit. 

Even so, Rashford scored three goals in his first four games but his form dipped, he lost his place and a loss in form ensued. A growing cloud over managerial uncertainty combined with a change in tactics under different circumstances have also played their part.

Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick were primarily responsible for handling training. Rashford will be hopeful that interim manager Rangnick can help him improve his game but the team is enduring a mixed run of form of late which means that the German has plenty of other problems to solve at the moment.

The German has also not figured out where to play the Englishman who has been deployed in three different positions ranging from playing as the leading man as well as playing as a full-back under the former Leipzig coach.

This is still a player who scored 21 goals and registered 15 assists in 59 appearances last season although that did not stop him from being the subject of criticism for not scoring more. Rangnick had revealed that he was puzzled by his forward's lack of confidence on the pitch but asserted that he has been impressed with Rashford in training in recent weeks

The Englishman came on as a substitute in United’s Premier League encounter against Brentford on Wednesday and didn’t offer much although he was there at the right place at the right time as he finished emphatically in the 77th minute off a Bruno Fernandes through ball to break his goal-scoring duck. It is perhaps a sign that a change in fortunes could be on the cards for Rashford as United look to finish a tumultuous campaign so far strongly.

He has plenty of time to get back to his best and he will need to do so as he steps up to be the main man after the potential departures of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial in the summer.