Marcus Rashford is being managed perfectly at Manchester United and England just like the classic Class of ’92 that included legends Paul Scholes and David Beckham
Old Trafford created a culture to raise their starlets in and Gareth Southgate is tapping in to that with their latest hero
THEY do the right thing at Manchester United.
Nobody gets big-headed, nobody is allowed to get carried away with little bit of success.
That is the way they bring them through and Marcus Rashford is no exception.
The England flyer is man of the moment again after setting up Eric Dier’s clever equaliser against Slovakia and then scoring a cracking Wembley winner.
Today, when Rashford, 19, returns to Old Trafford to prepare for Stoke City at the weekend, it will be Jose Mourinho’s job to shield him from the hysteria.
United bring their players up a certain way, with a steady stream reporting for England duty over the years showing manners and respect.
They are grounded boys, stretching back to the days of Becks, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, brother Phil, and Rio Ferdinand.
Gareth Southgate is tapping into that culture as he shapes the international career of one of English football’s brightest talents.
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England’s head coach said: “United prepare their players well, which is why they end up the way they do.
“You know the kind of player they are going to be before they even walk through the door because they are brought up to play in front of 70,000 people every week.
“We’ve had Marcus, Jesse Lingard and Michael Keane, so there is a certain type of player they develop. They are given good values.”
Rashford is a good kid, committed to becoming a first-team regular for club and country.
His impact on Monday, when he came on for Raheem Sterling for an important World Cup qualifier, was instant.
He has come through the system, moving quickly through junior teams to establish himself as a full international under Roy Hodgson.
England have had two more managers since then, although Rashford was overlooked for Sam Allardyce’s one and only squad.
He will be a mainstay under Southgate who added: “What’s nice is the pathway because it is all joined up.
"We used to speak with Ryan Giggs when he was United’s assistant manager about which team to put him in because we didn’t want to put him in the Under-21s too early.
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“We felt the U21s would put too much spotlight on him and I think United were grateful for that. But we picked him for the seniors two months later — so that plan was out the window.
"Blimey, you could see the impact he had straight away.”
Rashford scored against Australia on his debut, earning a wildcard into the Euro 2016 squad.
Hodgson, cautious coach that he is, gave him just 21 minutes to make an impact at the tournament. The kid never stood a chance.
Instead he is being embraced by Southgate.
He mistakenly started him out on the right, an unfamiliar position, before switching him to the left.
Those bounding runs, along with his explosive pace and his confidence to shoot, caught the eye.
England could be on to something.
Southgate added: “He can play centre-forward but we saw what he is capable of on the other wing.
“If you have flexible forwards you can play them across the front line.
"I think of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo interchanging at United.”
It is tempting to make comparisons to the impact Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen once had on the England set-up, but it is too soon to put him into that class.
Southgate added: “I am sure he would rather be compared with Rooney and Owen than not.
“He is a different type of player but as mature as they were in terms of the way he picks up concepts.
“But yes, it is up to him now whether he wants to go that far.”
Judging by the way he played against Slovakia, Rashford is ready for the next step.
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