Roy Keane reveals what Man Utd fans are telling him about Marcus Rashford following Man City defeat

Roy Keane has urged Marcus Rashford to 'reflect' on his own performances after the Manchester United forward hit back at critics recently.

In an interview with The Players' Tribune earlier this week, Rashford insisted he felt the need to speak up after his commitment to United was questioned amid a disappointing season individually and as a team. The forward's body language has been called into question on occasion and disciplinary issues have only fuelled the fire.

Rashford's form on the pitch has been inconsistent this season but the forward produced a moment of magic in Sunday's Manchester derby, rifling an effort past Ederson to open the scoring at the Etihad. But the forward's influence faded after half-time and Keane believes he needs to show more.

“The bit I wouldn't be happy about is when he's talking about the sacrifices he's made, his family turning down money,” Keane told Sky Sports. “The kid is doing alright, he's doing okay, it’s worked out well for everybody but when you're at a big club like Man United…You speak to fans, go to games every single week home and away and a lot of them are saying the same thing. 

“So maybe Marcus has to reflect and think ‘maybe there is sometimes where I'm not closing people down’. He's got other strengths in his game and I get that, sometimes it's very easy to criticise a player but he's also got high expectations from the last year or two where he's scored lots of goals. There's an element of a compliment towards him. 

“Man United want to see more of it, there's nothing wrong with defending yourself but if there's people close around you saying ‘maybe sometimes you do need to maybe do a bit more’. There's nothing wrong with that. He's learning and as a top player, there's always improvement to get better.”

United did go into half-time with that one-goal lead but dropped deeper and deeper under City pressure. Phil Foden matched Rashford’s quality with an outstanding goal of his own before making it 21 to the hosts with 10 minutes to go. Erling Haaland was the main beneficiary from a Sofyan Amrabat error to make it 3-1 in added-time as United lost ground on top-four rivals Tottenham and Aston Villa, who both won on Saturday.