Andy Cole: ‘Manchester United fans will get back on Marcus Rashford’s side if he can continue this form until the end of the season’

With three goals in his last two Premier League games, Marcus Rashford is in red-hot form under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. Despite this recent run in front of goal, club legend Andy Cole believes that the England international will need to continue this form from now until the end of the season to win back the love from the club’s fans.

In an exclusive chat with Betfred, Cole spoke to us about Ruben Amorim’s beginning to life at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s upcoming games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest and reports linking the club with free transfers for Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Lille’s Angel Gomes.

We’re three games into the Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United. What’s your overall view of how it’s gone?

“Ruben Amorim has done alright, hasn’t he? A couple of wins and a draw. If you look over the last seven results since Erik ten Hag departed the club there have been five wins and two draws, so it’s all been positive when you include Ruud van Nistelrooy’s spell as interim manager.

“His mannerisms have impressed me most. He knows and appreciates the fact that he’s got a big job on his hands and the way he’s gone about it and the way he’s spoken, he’s spoken with authority and confidence. When you take the Manchester United job, that’s what you’ve got to do. At this present moment in time, the media are lapping it up as well. He sounds very eloquent and he knows what he wants, put it that way. It’s a big plus.

“Every team has a weakness, so it’s just a matter of whether you can exploit those weaknesses during the game. It’ll be a good game against Arsenal on Wednesday, to be fair. Arsenal are defensively very strong and they’ve got a good record at home, so it’s going to be a tough game for Manchester United, but it’ll be a tough game for Arsenal as well.”

On rumours linking Joshua Zirkzee with Juventus…

“In football, you never know do you? He’s had a difficult time since coming to Manchester United. He arrived at the club with everybody expecting him to score goals, but scoring goals is never easy. He needs a bit of time to get used to the Premier League and he got himself a brace against Everton on Sunday, which is going to do his confidence some good, but regarding incomings and outgoings, the manager is the person that’s going to decide that.

“The best man for the game should start against Arsenal. It’s as simple as that. Since Ruben’s come in, he’s had a look at everybody. He’s never kept the same line-up in consecutive games and he’s given everybody an opportunity. I have no doubts on Wednesday that he will look at the team and pick the best players for that respective game. It’s going to be interesting to see who he goes with up top because they’re all in decent form going into the game and they’ve all got themselves a brace recently.

“Regarding Marcus Rashford, it’s only three games. We’ve got to be very honest because we’ve seen Marcus do this before and then for whatever reason, he’s gone back to how he was before. That’s my view on it. For Marcus to get the Manchester United fans back onside, he’s going to have to continue this form from now until the end of the season.

“He scored against Ipswich last week and it didn’t seem to make any difference with the fans. He’s just got to keep his consistency, keep his form up, keep scoring goals and keep playing well. I genuinely believe that this manager will put him under a lot of pressure to produce the goods and stay in the team.

“It’s only been a matter of time with Amad Diallo. He was on loan at Sunderland a few years ago and did very, very well there and I think every time he’s been given an opportunity to play in the team, he hasn’t let the team down.

“After the game Everton, Ruben Amorim said he was continuing the good work that Ruud van Nistelrooy had instilled in him. Ruud got him up and running, believed in him and got him to go out there and express himself and enjoy it. Last week against Ipswich, Sunday against Everton, Amad showed his quality and worked his socks off. If any manager sees a player working his socks off, then it’s a big, big plus.

“I like Ruud van Nistelrooy and we’ve always got on. He did very well as interim manager of Manchester United and he had a great relationship with the players and the fans. He’s gone into the Leicester job with his eyes wide open because I was very surprised when they sacked Steve Cooper. If there was any truth that there was unrest with the fans due to the fact he previously managed Nottingham Forest, then if that was the case, why appoint him in the first place? If the players weren’t playing for him because they didn’t believe in him, then are they going to give Ruud everything they’ve got? They’re in a precarious position at the moment, but no doubt Ruud will try and get them going.”

“I know somebody that worked with Chido Obi-Martin at Arsenal and I’ve been told that he has a bright future ahead of him. I’ve heard he’s a confident individual and very talented, but fingers crossed he gets his head down and performs, because if things go as they’re expected for him, you could see him in the Manchester United first team in a few years. 

“One of the reasons why he left Arsenal was because they weren’t prepared to fast-track him as quickly as he wanted. We just have to wait and see, but I’ve heard he’s a really good talent with an eye for goal.”

Reports linking Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies with a free transfer to Manchester United in the summer continue to crop up. Do you believe Alphonso would be a perfect fit for Ruben Amorim’s system in the left-wing-back role?

“On a free, I think Alphonso Davies would be perfect for any of the top teams. He’s not going to struggle for options and I think he’s got himself in a position now where he can choose the best move for himself and if he believes that’s Manchester United, then that will be Manchester United. 

“If you’ve got the opportunity to play in the Champions League and play for Real Madrid, then that’s a tough one to turn down and I don’t think it’ll be a move that’s down to money. We will have to wait and see, but he’s a quality player that’ll make any team better.

“Being very honest, I was disappointed to see Angel Gomes leave in the first place. He’s a very talented young man and you’re always going to have that type of nonsense where people say that he was too small for the Premier League and all that, but he’s moved to France, made a very good career for himself and represented England quite a few times, so fair play to him. 

“If that move was to happen, I have no doubts that he’d make Manchester United a better team.” 

“Newcastle’s form this season has been very up and down. I was very surprised when they lost to West Ham and then they followed that up with a draw away at Crystal Palace. They need to get a run together because there’s talk about there being pressure on Eddie Howe and all that, even though I don’t believe he is, but consistency is what’s missing from Newcastle United at the moment and the same goes for other teams in the league, such as Manchester United. 

“They’ll make it very difficult for Liverpool midweek. Liverpool are on a phenomenal run at the moment. Unbelievable run. Newcastle United won’t be lying down for them, put it that way.

“For me personally, I wouldn’t say Eddie Howe is under pressure, but it all depends on Newcastle’s aims and ambitions this season. There’s only four spots for Champions League football, so that doesn’t get any easier, especially when you hear people now saying that Manchester City could struggle to make the top four if they keep going the way they’re going. That’s football and you just never know, but I genuinely believe that Eddie Howe has done a fantastic job at Newcastle. 

“Consistency hasn’t been their best friend this season and now Alexander Isak is injured again. He’s a massive player for them. He can’t get that run of playing 15 games on the bounce because he always gets niggling injuries, but Newcastle need players like him.

“His future depends on where Newcastle end up this season. For me, the only problem with Isak is that he doesn’t play enough games. If Newcastle want to match their ambitions of playing in the Champions League and things like that, they need him fit because he’s going to score them goals.

“I can understand why Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in him because he will score goals, but he’s just not fit for the period of games that Newcastle United need him to be fit for, that would allow them to propel themselves forward. If he can address his injury problems, then Newcastle could get themselves in that position. I do understand why there’s interest in him.

“Liverpool have an unbelievable chance of winning the Premier League now. Liverpool would have to lose three games and Arsenal and Manchester City would have to win every single game and as we all know, that’s highly unlikely. Liverpool are in a great position, but we’re not even at Christmas yet. Sir Alex Ferguson always used to say to us that the league starts at Easter, so we will have to wait and see what happens between now and then, but Liverpool are in a fantastic position.”

[On Danny Murphy’s claim that Liam Delap is England’s “long-term successor to Harry Kane’]

“That’s a big statement from Danny Murphy. I haven’t seen a lot of him but he was a handful against Manchester United. He got himself in good positions and could have got himself a couple of goals.

“Long-term successor to Harry Kane? We’ll have to wait and see. It all depends on how England are planning to play in the future. Harry Kane’s not going to be around forever, but Liam’s definitely got potential and for all we know, Manchester City may have a buy-back on him. We will have to wait and see if he can get to that level.

“If you look at the players that have been most outstanding so far in the Premier League, then you’d say Mohamed Salah considering that his future’s still up in the air. He’s scoring goals for fun and it looks as if he’s got his head down and is trying to show everybody what he’s about by scoring goals and creating chances. The other player is Bukayo Saka at Arsenal. Those are the two I’d say so far.”