Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney explains how Marcus Rashford's story helped him

Former Manchester United great Wayne Rooney shared how Marcus Rashford's meteoric rise helped him at Derby County where he has been a full-time coach since January 2021. Rooney and Rashford spent 18 months together at Old Trafford when the 23-year-old attacker broke out from the United Academy and began to get involved in the first team as Rooney's Man United career edged close to an end.

Marcus Rashford's journey from academy to first team

An 18-year-old young Marcus Rashford was handed a chance by then-manager Louis van Gaal with the youngster filling in the team as the majority of United’s front line was out injured which helped him land his professional debut. The Englishman captured the opportunity with both hands in February 2016 during Man United's Europa League match against Midtjylland where he impressed everyone by scoring twice on his debut. Later on, he continued to be included in Man United's matchday squad and has since gone on to establish himself as a key player for the club. Rashford has also been a pivotal part of the national team setup and is amongst the first names on the team sheet for Gareth Southgate in recent times.

Wayne Rooney uses Marcus Rashford as an example for Derby players

Rooney, who joined the Rams in January 2020 as a player slowly and steadily took up the coaching role and was part of the four-man coaching set-up at Derby. Following the sacking of Phillip Cocu, the former Manchester United player was appointed as the interim manager and later on was confirmed as full-time manager once he officially retired from playing.

Since taking up the full-time managerial role with the side, the former Manchester United great saw out the Derby County relegation battle as the Rams managed to hold on to their Championship status last week. After securing the Championship status of his team, Rooney shared how he had used Rashford as an example to motivate the youngsters that were part of the first team on Saturday. 

Speaking on the BT Sport’s Between the Lines series with Rashford and Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney revealed that “Marcus’ story of getting in the first team" was something that he actually used a couple of weeks ago. The former Everton star shared how he had put a few of the young lads on the bench due to injuries at Derby and had shared how a 23-year-old Rashford came in from nowhere and made an impact which led to his current career. Rooney, who had a few youngsters with minimal training with the Derby County first-team, used Rashford's story as a motivating factor for the youngsters, implying that they can also replicate Rashford and have a major impact on the team.