Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has detailed what interim manager Ralf Rangnick has changed from predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since arriving at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer was sacked following United's disastrous defeat at Watford, which severely dented their hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
But Rangnick has steadied the ship since replacing the Norwegian, securing wins over Crystal Palace and Norwich City to ensure United have kept in touch with their rivals for a Champions League place.
The Red Devils have enjoyed somewhat of a winter break in recent weeks after an outbreak of Coid-19 among their squad which saw games against Brentford and Brighton postponed.
That break from action has allowed Rangnick time to further implement his philosophy onto the squad, with the German renowned for his development of the gegenpressing style of play.
His work with the squad certainly appears to have impressed Rashford, who has started both of the league games Rangnick has taken charge of.
The England international has revealed that Rangnick has focused on getting United to work together as a team more than Solskjaer did during his reign.
That has helped to correct one of the biggest issues from the Norwegian’s time at the club, with United now much more solid in a defensive sense.
“He’s done a good job because I think prior to him coming in he spent a lot of time analysing the team, analysing individuals and he knows what our strengths are,” Rashford told Sky Sports.
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“And all he’s done really is just got us going. The thing that was clear was that we were conceding too many goals and that’s always the starting point.
“So, he got us a lot more together. We’ve obviously been working on pressing and we’ll still improve on that.
“But the main thing is just doing everything together as a team so whether we’re attacking or defending, do it together.
“In the last couple of games, we’ve conceded a lot less chances and it’s resulted in clean sheets.”
Rashford has also revealed that Rangnick has increased the intensity in United’s training sessions, which has helped the German to bring in a better pressing style.
The attacker believes this was showcased best during the win at Norwich, when United recovered from a poor first-half to secure three points thanks to a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It’s tough but it’s fun. It involves a lot of small-sided games and stuff like that where the intensity is obviously high,” Rashford added.
“But it’s good, it’s what it takes to win big games and even in the Norwich game we didn’t quite get it so well in the first-half, but in the second-half it was much better.
“We showed that even if we’re not playing at our best, that system can work and it can be effective.
“This style of play that we’re playing with now is different to anything we’ve played before. Different to anything Man United’s played before so it’s obviously something new for us all.”
