Marcus Rashford told 'football is not his main priority' as Man Utd forward offered advice by Premier League golden boot winner

The 26-year-old winger has faced a great deal of criticism for his underwhelming performances for the Red Devils in recent seasons, while his off-field antics have caused problems for him at Old Trafford, having missed a game last term because of late-night partying in Belfast.

The winger has been told by coach Erik ten Hag that he must "set his life right" if he is to get back to his best with United but ex-Chelsea star Hasselbaink fears that Rashford is not willing to "push himself" to take his game to another level.

"When you look at Marcus Rashford and you look at his body language, and I'm not saying this is true, but it looks like football is not his main priority," he said to Genting Casino. "Do we know if Rashford can play football? Yes. Hell yes. When he’s playing off the left and he's playing his best football, he's a very, very good player. He’s a top player. When he was at his top level, he used to sprint so much and run in behind the defence. He used to work so hard running at defenders, scaring defenders. That’s when Marcus is at his best and I just don't see that enough anymore.

“For a player like Rashford, when one of your main attributes is that explosive pace, you have to suffer for your art. You have to be prepared to give everything to work as hard with and without the ball, and that means, you need to feel a little bit of pain because it takes a lot of physical power to ask your body to do that in every single game. I don’t see a player that is willing to push himself like he used to, and he needs to get that back. He needs to get back to being a menace with and without the ball. He needs to work harder on the defensive part of the game. There is no doubt that Marcus Rashford has the ability. It’s a mental thing. It’s about unlocking his mind and mentally."

Rashford has already scored once so far in the new Premier League season and Ten Hag will hope he can get better performances out of him as time goes on. However, Hasselbaink feels it is all up to the Englishman.

"Only Marcus Rashford can unlock himself. It’s down to him to see that improvement," he added. "As the manager, I'm sure that Erik ten Hag is doing the right things for Marcus. I’m sure he’s trying to give him the perfect environment to enable him to flourish, but it’s a two-way street. It’s not just Erik ten Hag’s responsibility for Rashford to improve, there has to be the desire from the player as well,” said Hasselbaink."