Joe Cole sends message to Marcus Rashford over his ‘body language’ after Manchester United star’s ‘bullying’ claim

Joe Cole has advised Marcus Rashford to improve his ‘body language’ amid reports the Manchester United star feels he is ‘unfairly bullied’ by pundits.

Following a poor 2023/24 campaign, Rashford started this season in struggling form, failing to register a single shot in the opening three games.

This lead to a wave of criticism from the likes of Alan Shearer and Gary Neville, as well as fans who jeered Erik ten Hag when he didn’t sub the forward off during the home loss to Liverpool.

Rashford did manage to bounce back on Saturday however, scoring a sublime goal in United’s 3-0 win at Southampton.

The night before the match, a source close to the player claimed that the England international thought the criticism from pundits, especially former United players, was akin to ‘bullying’.

Speaking on TNT Sports after the Southampton win, Peter Crouch praised Rashford and admitted he felt ‘sorry’ for the 26-year-old given the huge amount of scrutiny aimed at him.

Fellow pundit Cole was also impressed with the performance but suggested he could do more to get critics off his back, aside from scoring goals.

‘No doubt, Manchester United means a lot to him, playing football means a lot to him,’ the former Chelsea and Liverpool star said.

‘I think the key thing for him is when things aren’t going well, keep you body language nice and positive. Don’t give us the chance to think he’s down.

‘The criticism is what it is but the body language would certainly help. Score goals, people would be quiet, simple as that if you’re a striker. All centre-forwards know that.

‘But it would just help him. He’s getting to that age where he needs to work that out because he’s a senior player now. Especially at this club, he’s the icon of this club.

‘If his body language was better in the tough times, when things are struggling and they look like they can’t get a result. Not the good times because we can all walk and talk when things are going well.

‘I’d like to see that from him and I think that would help his overall performance.’

Rashford’s teammate Andre Onana, who saved a penalty against Southampton while the game was goalless, was full of praise for the forward’s character, saying: ‘Sometimes you will struggle, sometimes you will face difficulties, but it’s not about how you fall, it’s about how many times you can stand up, no?

‘Today he came back again, scored an important goal for us and hopefully he’ll do much more for us. I’m really happy for him because he needs his goals.

‘Playing for this amazing club, there is a price to pay, every game when you lose it looks like it’s the end of the world, but you need to stand strong, stand together and keep fighting.’

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