Louis van Gaal is confident Marcus Rashford will cope with his new-found fame, saying the Manchester United teenager’s attitude matches the remarkable aptitude displayed over the past week.
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“We have to go step by step, I think”, Van Gaal said when asked about his side’s top-four hopes. “We still had our chances and I’m very pleased with this victory – it’s come at the right moment”.
“When players are coming back, they are not fit enough”. “I have given young players opportunities and they have taken them”.
“You see how [Marcos] Rojo is struggling”. I give them 20 minutes and then 50 minutes and today 70 minutes and I have to do that within Premier League matches. “He is in our system and plays for the Under-18s – players we believe in and who we think have a bright future – so we’re delighted he and others are getting chances in the first team at their clubs”. That number would obviously increase if the Reds progress past Liverpool and West Ham in the knock-out competitions.
Those problems could be partly alleviated when Watford visit on Wednesday, though, with Louis van Gaal revealing Martial, Smalling and Darmian could return.
Plucked out of the club’s Under-21 squad due to injuries to key personnel, the 18-year-old was a virtual unknown when he was pushed into the spotlight against Midtjylland last week at Old Trafford, after Anthony Martial pulled up during the warm-up. You can see how hard it has been, but still we have the possibility of finishing in the first four in the league.
“When you are in front of his house and that kind of stuff, I don’t think that is beneficial for a boy of 18 years old”.
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“We could still have 20 matches to go and we’ve already played 43 matches, so that’s more than 60 matches”. The fourth and final Champions League spot could very well be decided in the second leg of the Manchester derby later this season.
