Erik ten Hag has hailed the impact of Benni McCarthy on Manchester United's forwards after revealing he felt the group needed a coach who understood them in the summer.
Ten Hag added the former Premier League striker to his coaching staff in July and his impact has most clearly been seen in the form of Marcus Rashford, whose goal in the second leg of the Europa League win against Real Betis on Thursday was his 27th of the season.
Rashford is having the best goalscoring season of his career and Ten Hag believes the structure in the team has given him freedom, but also highlighted the impact of McCarthy and his reasons for bringing the South African in.
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McCarthy scored 37 goals in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers and understands the role of a striker and the art of finishing, something Rashford has taken to another level this season.
"I think the most important is the way of playing, that gives him a base, gives him a structure, the way of play is in his favour because I knew his skills and then you also being staff around who can make it better and make it progress," Ten Hag said of Rashford's form this season.
"I thought we needed one on the staff who is specific and responsible for strikers, Benni is doing a good job. I think the staff has a good balance and we do it together, it’s not only about Benni McCarthy, all have specific jobs in our staff. There’s a good vibe, they challenge each other, it’s a total package, and it’s not about one person."
Ten Hag said Rashford's fitness has improved since he returned for pre-season and hailed his attitude and mentality in producing this form after what had been a disappointing 18 months for him.
"He progressed during the season, he was also not in the best shape when he started the season," he said. "The way of playing gives him a base and then he brings his skillset, he brings his attitude, his mentality, I see that is bringing him a lot of progress and it gives the team a lot joy, Marcus a lot of goals and us a lot of wins."
Rashford is now on course to become the first United player to score 30 goals in all competitions for a decade, but Ten Hag always had faith that one of his forwards could hit good numbers this season.
"I think I said it in the summer, if I believe in Rashford or Martial one of them could score 20 plus goals and I said yes I believe," he said.
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