Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane criticised Marcus Rashford's body language and hit out at his lack of leadership skills following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
The Red Devils were second-best all night against the Magpies, with Anthony Gordon's second-half goal handing Eddie Howe's side a much-deserved three points at St James' Park.
Rashford struggled in the Premier League affair and was withdrawn in the 61st minute of the contest, meaning that his record this season is now two goals and four assists in 18 appearances in all competitions.
The 26-year-old is in serious danger of losing his starting role against Chelsea on Wednesday evening, and Keane has criticised the club's academy product for his latest underwhelming performance.
"The thing with Rashford is they gave him a penalty last week at Everton for his confidence. For his confidence? It's about body language," Keane told Sky Sports News.
"I go back to the wide players I played with; [Ryan] Giggs, [David] Beckham, [Lee] Sharpe, [Andrei] Kanchelskis. Let me tell you: they ran.
"It's alright running that way [forward], you have got to run back. Man United fans don't jump on players' backs that quickly, let me tell you. Some players they do give the benefit of the doubt.
"They're really frustrated with Rashford at the moment. Is it because of his lack of skill? Not really. They don't see a player running.
"He's 26; he's not a child anymore. We are talking about examples around the training ground. As a United player, the first thing I would be looking at would be the work rate and his desire.
"He is obviously a talented boy and he is got to lead by example and he is certainly not. Is he on his own? Absolutely not. Of course not. He is one of the most senior players in that dressing room and he is not putting a shift in. Not good."
Meanwhile, ex-Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher said: "Watching Marcus Rashford last night, that was an unacceptable performance, for a few reasons. And it's not picking on Rashford, I don't think anyone comes out of it with any great credit.
"But that lad didn't play midweek. So, if there's any little mitigating circumstances of a player maybe not being 100 per cent, where a player plays Wednesday night away in Europe, they play Saturday and then they travel.
"But I've been a local player and it's not easy being a local player, especially when your team are not doing well. You have got to drag other people up with you.
"I am watching Rashford now and he is reminding me of [Anthony] Martial, That is the worst possible thing you can probably say about him. A foreign player has come in, hasn't done the business and doesn't care, really. That is a fact with Martial. Rashford is now looking like Martial.
"If your confidence is down, you're not scoring goals, or you're not getting assists, not a problem. You do not stop running for that badge, that shirt and those supporters."
Rashford has only managed two goals and two assists in 13 Premier League appearances this season, with only one of those coming from open play, registering against Arsenal at the start of September. body check tags ::
.JPG?w=87&h=65&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes looks dejected after Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon scores their first goal on December 2, 2023")
