Erik ten Hag confident Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford will rediscover form - 'He will be back'

Erik ten Hag has backed Marcus Rashford to rediscover the kind of form that saw him bag 30 goals in all competitions for Manchester United last season.

Rashford has scored just once this season as United slumped to nine defeats in 17, representing their worst start to a campaign in decades.

The 26-year-old was sent off in a devastating 4-3 defeat to Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, but Ten Hag is confident it won’t be long until he sparks back into life.

“He is not happy. We are not happy,” Ten Hag said. “He has high expectations from himself, at the moment he is not in his best form but I know he will be back.

“When the team is playing better, he will play better, he will score goals. I am confident of that.

“This season he will improve and score. He's totally in the team and aware of everything. He will be back on track and it can happen very quickly.

“Sometimes you only need one game and I'm sure he will get there.”

Next up, United will hope to return to winning ways at home when they welcome Luton on Saturday in the Premier League.

The Theatre of Dreams was a fortress last season but has been more of a happy hunting ground for visiting teams of late.

United have lost four of their last six at home – including successive 3-0 defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle United – but Ten Hag believes his players have already shown they can bounce back from disappointment, having been accused of lacking character.

“I think we often proved we can, like at Fulham, Brentford, this team can overcome big setbacks,” Ten Hag added.

“It's about the end result and we have to win every game, so we are very disappointed. Finally it's about the end result and it's always about a process, thinking about it and then managing the process, which is what I focus on.”

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